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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 1812.PDF
Crash spoils TWA safety record T HE TWA 747-100 acci dent on 1 7 July marks the first fatal crash for the airline in a decade. The last incident occurred in April 1986, whena terrorist bomb exploded on board a Boeing 727 inbound to Athens, killing four passen gers, although the aircraft landed safely. Excluding terrorist action, the airline has had a clean sheet for over 21 years, since a 727 crashed near Washington DC in September 1974. One of the carrier's Lockheed TriStars was destroyed in July 1992 after an aborted take-off from JFK airport New York, but with no fatalities. The aircraft involved in the latest accident (registration N931191ineNo 153), was the youngest in TWA's fleet often 747-100s and powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A. The crashed aircraft had completed over 92,000 flight hours, and around 17,000 flight cycles. A "C-check" maintenance overhaul was carried out about three weeks before the crash. Almost 1,100 747s have been delivered since the first in December 1969, and nine aircraft have been involved in fatal accidents, excluding terrorist actions. According to London, UK- based aviation consultancy Airclaims, the world fleet has completed around 5.5 million flights since the last fatal acci dent involving passengers (excluding terrorist action). TWA 747 crash raises spectre of terrorism GRAHAM WARWICK/ATLANTA LOCATING THE cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders was the priority follow ing the 17 July crash of a Trans World Airlines (TWA) Boeing 747-100 into the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island, New York. All 210 passengers and 18 crew on board TWA Flight 800 were killed when the aircraft exploded 20min after take-off from New York Kennedy bound for Paris Charles de Gaulle. The flight was scheduled to continue to Rome. Wreckage fell in waters 100- 120ft (30-35m) deep, some 15km (8nm) off the coast of eastern Long Island and 110km from New York. The aircraft had taken off from Kennedy at 20.19, about lh late, and disappeared from radar screens at 20.48, as it passed through 13,000ft (4,000m). A US Coast Guard vessel in the area reported receiving a Mayday call around the time of the explosion, but it is not known whether the call came from the TWA 747. The US National Trans portation Safety Board (NTSB) is being assisted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Anti-Terrorism Task Force, fuelling speculation that Flight 800 was brought down by a bomb. Both the NTSB and FBI stressed Wreckage is being recovered over a wide area on 18 July that no evidence of a bomb had been found. The NTSB also said that it had found no evidence to support speculation that the 747 had been struck by another aircraft or had brought down by a surface-to-air missile. Wtnesses generally agree that there had been a fire or smaller explosion — described as a flare — before the main explosion, after which the aircraft appeared to break into two main pieces, which fell burning and disinte grating into the sea. Wreckage recovered on the day following the crash included a 3 Oft-long section of wing. The aircraft is being recon structed at a former Grumman hangar on Long Island. The 747 had arrived at New York from Athens and was on the ground for 3h before the flight to Paris. Security checks were said to have been conducted at Hellen- ikon and Kennedy airports. • •V;,!;^A!l„l^3V;llL-fll:IIL< Fatalities Operator 335 271 259 256 228 Pan American American Airlines Pan American Arrow Air TWA Aircraft 747-100 DC-10-10 747-100 DC-8-63 747-100 Location Tenerife Chicago Lockerbie Gander Atlantic Date 27/03/77 25/05/79 21/12/88 12/12/85 17/07/96 Note: Includes crew fatalities Source: Airclaims CASE database. Eurofighter excluded from 1997 German budget plans ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI/MUNICH THE EUROFIGHTER pro gramme has been left without funding in current German budget plans for 1997, confirms the de fence ministry. While the Government is con tractually obliged to complete de velopment funding for the Eurofighter EF2000, the ministry says that production investment— due to get the go-ahead at the end of this year—may be delayed, or even cancelled, because of defence cuts. "We have to ask ourselves whether we have the money," says the ministry, but it admits that a final 1997 budget plan has not yet been completed, and will not be confirmed until after the parlia mentary summer recess. A decision not to proceed with the production-investment phase of the programme at the end of this year would incense the UK and Italy, which want the EF2000 in service as a soon as possible. The 1997 budget has been reduced to DM46.6 billion ($30 billion) compared with earlier expectations of DM48.4 billion, sparking fears that at least one major defence-procurement pro gramme will be dropped. Fears for the Helios 2/Horus reconnais sance-satellite programme and the Eurocopter Tiger battlefield heli copter have already emerged. The ministry confirms that five other programmes have also been called into question: the PARS 3 long-range anti-armour missile (Trigat); development of the STN Atlas Taifun unmanned air vehicle; the MAW/Apache stand-off wea pon; and the Tornado Self-Pro tection Jammer. ^) 4 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 24 - 30 July 1,
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