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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1043.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Vietnam Airlines to use Region Air A320 REGION AIR OF Singapore is near to finalising a deal to lease its first Airbus Industrie A320 to Vietnam Airlines, as negotiations continue for the lease of a further eight narrow- body aircraft. Vietnam Airlines is expected to take delivery of the aircraft — its eighth A320 — as soon as a decision is made on whether to wet- or dry-lease the aircraft. The carrier is still waiting to be granted its own A320 operator certificate. It already operates seven wet- leased A32()s, with a mix of Air France and Vietnamese crews. The CFM56-powered aircraft will need replacing from the end of the year, when they are due to start being returned to owner Air France. Region Air is understood to be leading the bidding with an offer of eight new A320s, pow ered by International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans. Other proposed replacement aircraft include the Boeing 737 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90. Vietnam Airlines is also understood to be discussing with Region Air the lease of up to three of the larger A340s (Flight International, 1-7 March). The company has already ordered one A340 from Airbus and is negotiating to buy a further two secondhand air craft from Air France. A final decision has not yet been taken, and the airline is still considering offers for the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-ll,saysa Vietnam Airlines official. lie adds that any lease agreement is likely to include a trial period for proper evaluation and route proving. The airline requires a new long-range aircraft to operate on routes to Europe, including its recently launched service to Berlin and Paris. Vietnam Airlines also expects to fly to North America as soon as it con cludes an air-services agreement with the US Government. • Dawn of Apollo GREEK CHARTER CARRIER APOLLO Airlines began operations on 25 March, using a single leased Airbus A300B4. A second aircraft is due to arrive in May. Initial planned routes will link the Greek mainland and islands to Scandinavian desti nations initially. Services to other European cities will begin once the second machine is in the fleet. Canada joins USA in dropping MLS THE CANADIAN Govern ment is to negotiate the ter mination of its microwave-landing system (MLS) with prime contrac tor Micronav International. Transport minister Douglas Young says that the nation is committing itself to continued use of the instrument-landing system (ILS) for as long as possi ble and then plans to switch to satellite-based landing aids. Young believes that Canada can protect its ILS integrity until "at least 2005", meeting probable inter national requirements. Rules are being drawn up by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The Canadian decision follows the US As dropping of the MLS in 1994. Several European nations, however, still expect to have to use the system as interference prob lems threaten the ILS. • NEWS IN BRIEF • PILOT FACES GAOL A former FedEx pilot who attacked one of the carrier's crews in a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in the cruise has been found guilty of air piracy and faces a 20-year gaol term. A jury rejected the insanity defence of Auburn Calloway who used hammers, a knife and a spear-gun in the assault when travelling off- duty. The prosecutor told the jury that Calloway may have wanted to crash the aircraft to collect insurance money. A suicide note was found aboard the aircraft. The crew was seriously wounded by Calloway in the incident, but survived to land the aircraft at Memphis. Investigators say bomb theory is unproven in Romanian A310 crash THE ROMANIAN acci dent-investigation commis sion is backtracking on early statements by some of its indi vidual members that the crash of a TAROM Romanian Airlines Airbus Industrie A310 on 31 March was likely to have been caused by an onboard explosion. An official statement now says that the commission "...is keep ing an open mind on whether the crash was caused by a bomb, pilot error or a technical prob lem". A commission member, Adrei Dan, subsequently made the bald statement: "Pilot error is common." A Romanian pathologist had said earlier that burns and impact damage on some bodies were evidence of a pre-crash explosion. All 50 pas sengers and ten crew died in the crash, which occurredshortly after take-off from Bucharest. Meanwhile, the flight-data recorder, downloaded for the Romanian investigators by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, has been returned with its data printouts to Romania. The official Romanian state ment says: "The pilot-to-pilot channel [on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR)] recorded talk...which accorded with that specified in the [checklists] and confirms execution of manoeu vres in a normal succession and on time. The [CVR area micro phone] recorded normal noises generated by the coupling and operation of onboard devices and systems and the engine noise without any other special noises." A Romanian newspaper had reported the co-pilot as saying: "What the hell is going on in the back?" Head of the commis sion, Sorin Stoicescu, however, says that he had not heard it. "They are all just hypotheses," says Stoicescu, who adds that all the possibilities will be investi gated when the evidence has been collected. J FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 April 1995
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