FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1994
1994 - 2509.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT FAA faces a dilemma over Concorde TCAS Transaero finds a way to London RUSSIAN INDEPENDENT carrier Transaero aims to devel op European services from its Moscow Sheremetyevo base for local, as well as connecting, traffic, to its CIS flights. As a first step, it has launched twice-weekly flights to London Gatwick. Transaero has no rights to London, but is operating as a risk- sharing joint venture with Riga Airlines Express of Latvia, which has an open-skies arrangement with the UK, and flies via Riga using a two-class Boeing 737-200. There are plans to increase frequency to up to four flights a week. Transaero has also applied to operate non-stop Moscow-London flights. Crossair is pleased with Saab 2000 in service RAMON LOPEZ /WASHINGTON DC THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration is consider ing a British Airways and Air France request to extend still fur ther the deadline for fitting a traf fic-alert and collision-avoidance system (TCAS II) to their BAC/Aerospatiale Concordes. In May, the FAA granted a waiver to the original December 1993 requirement giving the car riers until the end of 1994 to com ply, but refusing their request for a March 1995 deadline. It also warned that no further extension would be given (Flight Inter national, 18-24 May). It has emerged, however, that the airlines subsequently requested a waiver until 31 March, 1996. That request is being formally opposed by American Airlines, which is demanding that the FAA sticks to the 31 December, 1994, date. The airlines' problem is that the Rockwell-Collins-supplied Dome & Magolin TCAS antenna was unable to cope with the ther mal-cycling and buffeting of supersonic flight. Collins has since switched to Chelton Electrostatics of the UK to devel op a new antenna. Chelton says that its tender indicated a probable 1996 date for AN IRAN Asseman Airlines Fokker F2 8 Mk 1000 regional twinjet crashed into high ground shortly after 22:50 local time dur- NEWS IN BRIEF • J41 CREW BLAMED Aircrew error was the proba ble cause of the Atlantic Coast Airlines British Aero space Jetstream 41 crash on 7 January on approach to Columbus, Ohio, says the US National Transportation Safety Board. completion and that it is still on track for that date. First deliveries are due in September 1995. In its exemption petition, BA says that the 31 December date is "...clearly unrealistic, but we are confident that a revised, robust schedule has now been identified". BA says that the Concorde fleets have been modified for the TCAS II, apart from the antennae, and suggests that safety would not be jeopardised because the aircraft's Mode S system is operational and offering information to other TCAS-equipped aircraft. American describes the request as "grossly excessive and grossly against the public interest". It says: "The apparent lack of focus and the obvious inability to set realistic timescales for developing a TCAS solution for the Concorde call into question the prospects for British Airways and Air France ever com plying with the TCAS rules or any other FAA regulation." Safety aside, American argues that "competition and fairness issues" are also at stake. It notes that US carriers compete with BA and Air France in many markets, including the markets which are served by the Concorde, and points also to the UK's allegedly anti competitive aviation policies, and Air trance's record of state aid. J ing a domestic flight from Esfahan to Teheran in Iran on 12 October. All 59 passengers and seven crew are believed to have been killed. Air-traffic control lost contact with the aircraft at 22:50 and the wreckage has been found in the Karkas mountains near Natanz, some 80km (50 miles) north of Esfahan. Air-traffic controllers had not reported any distress calls or bad weather in the vicinity. Asseman operated seven F"28s, three Mk 1000s and four Mk 4000s. The crashed aircraft, EP- PAV, was serial No 70, having been built in 1973. • JULIAN MOXON/FARO CROSSMR SAYS that its newly delivered Saab 2000s are in operation lOh a day "with relative ly few problems" after a month in service. The Swiss regional airline does, however, report "serious diffi culties" with the active noise-sup pression system. "It's had a much smoother entry into service than the Saab 340," says Crossair vice-president of flight operations, Andre Dose, speaking at the European Regional Airlines Convention in Faro, Portugal, on 13-14 October. Three aircraft, of the 20 on firm order and 25 on option, have been delivered so far. Handling qualities have been "very smooth", with cruise speed "...right where it is supposed to be, at 365kt [675km/h]", says Dose. He adds that this will increase by 20kt once the aircraft is operat ed with the powered elevator-con trol system, due to be certificated by the end of this year. Since beginning operations in September, Crossair has achieved a despatch reliability of close to 96%. "Most of the delays were due to faulty warnings," says Dose. Problems with the noise-sup pression system persist, mainly because there is no way of moni toring whether the system is func tioning properly. "We've learnt that you need to re-set it after every flight, other wise you find you are flying with several of the speakers out of action," Dose says. He adds that software solu tions are in the pipeline and that the system is "extremely effec tive" when fully operational. Crossair president Moritz Suter says that the Saab 2000 is proving to be "perfect" for the hub by-pass role. "When we fly from Zurich to Dublin; it is just 7min slower than our Avro RJ85s," he says. • Asseman F28 crashes in Iran FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 19 - 25 October 1994
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
