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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 0728.PDF
Mm TRANSPORT Spanair is first to order heavy A321 as it opts for Airbus fleet ANDREW DOYLE/LONDON SPANAIR PLANS to launch a new high gross weight version of the Airbus A3 21 as part of its commitment for up to 45 Airbus narrow-bodies to replace its ageing Boeing MD-80 fleet. The carrier - Spain's second largest after Iberia - has signed a memorandum of understanding covering 21 firm orders and 12 reconfirmable commitments, comprising seven A319s, 17 A3 2 Os and nine A321s. The airline will take options for another 12 aircraft. All are to be powered by International Aero Engines V2500s. The Palma de Mallorca-based airline is leasing 15 of the Airbuses from International Lease Finance. The remainder will be purchased. The first aircraft to be delivered, in September 2000, will be an A321. All of the A321s are to be handed over by 2005. They will be deployed on European routes from the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and other Spanish airports. The growth A3 21-200 to enter service with Spanair increases max imum take-off weight by 2t to 931. This provides 550km (300nm - or Spanair will say goodbye to its MD-SOs as it embraces Airbus just over 10%) more range with the addition of a pair of auxiliary fuel tanks in the cargo hold. With the new maximum range of 5,550km, the A321-200 will be capable of transcontinental flights in the USA and charter operations between northern Europe and Mediterranean or North African destinations, with a full payload. The Airbuses will replace Spanair's 20 Boeing MD-82/83s and two MD-87s. To allow for rapid passenger growth and recently introduced new routes, the carrier will lease extra MD-80s for the summer, bringing its total fleet to 32. Spanair, which in the last four years has seen its scheduled traffic grow from 15% to 55% of its total, brought in a pre-tax profit of "more than a billion pesetas" in 1998, against sales of Ptas74.4 billion ($488 million). The carrier, 49% owned by SAS, the rest by Spanish travel agent Viajes Marsans, plans to float a minority stake on the stock market before the end of the year. • Europe and USA start Galileo connection talks EUROPE AND THE USA have started discussions to ensure Europe's Galileo global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is interoperable with the US global positioning system (GPS). In February, the European Commission (EC) announced plans to develop Galileo as an open, global satellite navigation system independent from the GPS. Although the USA has not wel comed Europe's plans to develop an independentsatellite navigation system, it is keen to ensure Galileo is fully compatible and interopera ble with GPS. US Department of Trans portation officials met their UK and German counterparts this month to discuss interoperability and meetings with France and Italy are planned. "We are not sure why you [the European Union] need to go for ward with a separate system, but if you wish to do so we are suggesting open system architecture so that the systems are complementary," says DoT deputy assistant for trans portation policy Joseph Canny. If the Galileo programme goes ahead, says Canny, interoperability is not so much a matter of sharing frequencies, but of co-operating on time base and signal structure. In addition to discussing inter operability, Canny is in Europe "to make some key governments aware of the US programme of [GPS] maintenance and modernisation and of its full commercial possibil ities". The USA is committed to maintain and extend GPS accuracy and integrity, says Canny. The GPS satellites that will pro vide the third civil frequency, known as L5, will "begin to be launched in 2005.. .and we are try ing to advance the schedule", says Canny. By 2010, he says, 18 new satel lites will be broadcasting the L5 signal, which will have more power and a higher data rate, making it more accurate and less easy to jam than the existing signals. 3 Japan identifies MD- 11 autopilot defects after crash probe JAPAN'S MINISTRY of Transport (MoT) is expected to recommend to the US Federal Aviation Administration that improvements be made to the pro gramming of Boeing's MD-11 autopilot system, according to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily newspaper. This follows the investigation of ajapan Airlines (JAL)MD-11 inci dent over the Shima Peninisula in Mie Prefecture, western Japan in June 1997. JAL flight 706 was bound for Nagoya from Hong Kong with 180 passengers and crew members. It was making its approach to Nagoya Airport when the accident occurred. A senior iMoT official declines to confirm or deny the Yomiuri report, but it is understood that the com mittee has concluded there were defects in the autopilot programme of the aircraft which caused it to descend too fast, forcing the pilot to take over manual control. Initially, the MD-11 was thought to have experienced severe turbu lence while it was descending on autopilot at more than 365kt (675km/h). Twelve people were injured in the incident. One crew member, who has been in a coma since the accident, died in February. The MoT official says die panel's conclusions will be made public "shortly". • Japan's Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office has decided not to indict a pilot, a co-pilot and four current and former officials of China Airlines in connection with an Airbus A300-600R accident in April 1994 at Nagoya. The pilot and co-pilot died in the crash of the A300-600R and the Prosecutors Office determined that further investigation was impossi ble. The investigation concluded that the overall training and exami nation of pilots were properly con ducted at CAL and that four former and incumbent airline officials could not be prosecuted for "lack of sufficient evidence". The officials include Chang Kuang-feng, then vice-president of the airline with responsibility' for safety. • 8 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 31 March - 6 April 1999
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