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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0161.PDF
Fresh crash data offer hope for Concorde recertif ication DAVID LEARMOUNT/LONDON JULIAN MOXON/PARIS VITAL NEW information on what happened to the Air France Aerospatiale/British Aero space Concorde when it crashed just after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport has increased the likelihood that the aircraft will fly commercially again. A second interim report by the French Bureau Enquetes- Accidents (BEA) confirms that the wing fuel tank was not pierced from outside, and the fierce under- wing fire resulting from the fuel leak may well have been ignited by a flashback from the engine reheat, not as originally thought by dam aged electrics on the landing gear or in the undercarriage bay. It is believed that fire could have trav elled forwards in the boundary layer eddies just under the wing. BEA director Paul-Louis Arslanian says that, although the full report "is far from finished", enough data will soon be available to enable the authorities to approve aircraft modifications enabling the return of Concorde's certifi cates of airworthiness. Originally, it had been thought the massive underwing fuel leak in the fatal 2 5 July 2000 accident was caused by a piece of rubber from a main gear tyre explosion which pierced the tank from outside. The BEA now confirms that shock waves in the fuel itself and ripples propagating in the tank's external skin caused by the impact of a 4.5kg (101b) lump of tyre carcass punched out a piece of tank/lower wing skin which was found on the runway after the accident. Engines 1 and 2 were producing no thrust at impact. Although both had received some "soft body dam age" it was not enough to make them fail, the report says. The crew had shut down No 2, which had given a false engine fire warning, but No 1 engine probably lost some power with the ingestion of fuel and hot gases'from the under wing conflagration. Finally engines 3 and 4 failed because of "the distortion of the airflow enter ing the intakes" as the Concorde reached an angle of attack above 25° and a left roll rate of 1007s shortly before crashing. A series of ballistic tests will be carried out to validate modifica tions to the fuel tanks, which centre on Kevlar-based liners designed to prevent significant fuel leakage in the event of tank rupture. Further modifications include electrical isolation of the 115V wheel brake fan system during take-off, and physical protection of electrical systems around the land ing gear. Ah Air France Concorde will undergo taxi trials to establish how the piece of metal on the run way from a Continental DC-10 cut into the tyre, causing it to explode. The report also shows how a spacer on the affected undercar riage which holds two lateral rings in position was missing from the oleo/bogey coupling. This retainer was not replaced after maintenance carried out a week before the acci dent, says the report, but it does not venture a possible connection with the accident cause. • El Al studies new orders for Boeing 747 and 777 ISRAELI FLAG carrier El Al is considering whether to evaluate the purchase of further Boeing 777s and 747-400s. The airline only recently unoffi cially cancelled its decision to buy three Airbus A3 30s. Sources at El Al say the extra air craft will be needed to maintain the level of seat availability after the planned retirement of some of its old747-200sand767-200s. The airline has already decided to retire at least three widebodies earlier then planned. These will probably include two 747-2 00s and one 767-200. One of the airline's 757-200s was repurchased by Boeing as part of the deal last year to acquire three 777-200ERs. The decision was marred by controversy as the Clinton Retirement of older 747s will create a gap in ElAl's seat capacity NEWS IN BRIEF • AIRSPACE PLANNER Eurocontrol has purchased five Total Airspace & Airport Modeller (TAAM) licenses from Boeing subsidiary the Preston Group. TAAM, which is a fast-time gate-to- gate simulation tool to analyse operations, redesign airspace and optimise facilities, will allow Eurocontrol in air traffic management planning. Administration in Washington stepped in to pressurise the Israelis into buying Boeing aircraft rather than Airbus. An intention to acquire A3 30s was also agreed, but this has now been quietly dropped. Meanwhile, the first 777 is due for delivery next month, operating on the to New York, Hong Kong and London. J 2,000 a year die from flight thrombosis AHOSPITAL based next to one of the world's busiest interna tional airports has estimated that up to 2,000 passengers a year worldwide die from post-flight deep-vein thrombosis. Ashford General Hospital, which has the closest accident and emergency department to London Heathrow Airport, UK, says it has dealt with about 10 deaths a year resulting from post-flight deep- vein thrombosis (DVT) over the past three years. A hospital projection of its fig ures in relation to the number of passengers who pass through Heathrow has concluded thatup to 2,000 passengers a year worldwide may die of flight-related DVT. Precise figures are difficult because many hospitals do not record whether DVT patients have recently been on an aircraft. The hospital's revelation is like ly to refuel a controversy ignited following the death of a young woman who died following a trip from Australia to London. Partly as a result of publicity surrounding that incident British Airways has decided to issue leaflets to its long haul passengers giving advice on how to reduce the risk of DVT - which it calls "traveller's thrombo sis"-while flying. The risk can be increased - par ticularly in the old, smokers and the obese - through long periods of forced inactivity, which is not unique to airline travel, cardio vascular consultants make clear. The dry air at altitude, however, can lead to dehydration, which raises the risk. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16 - 22 January 2001 11
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