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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 3287.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT PROGRAMMES GUY NORRIS / PHOENIX A380 first flight slips into 2005 Meanwhile, Airbus studies possible design and engine modifications to appeal to the Japanese domestic market Luxair Fokker 50 crash site findings yield few clues to cause The crash killed everyone on board but the captain and one passenger Evidence emerging late last week from the 6 November crash of a Luxair Fokker 50 on final approach in poor visibility to Luxembourg Findel Airport failed to show a clear reason for the accident. The airline confirms that there were no indications from the pilots of any problems. The 11-year-old aircraft (LX-LGB) was operating from Berlin to Findel with three crew and 19 passengers on board when it crashed 6km (3nm) from runway 24 in fog, killing everyone but the captain and one passenger. » The crew was flying an instrument | landing system (ILS) approach and * had been cleared to land, the airline says. Although there was fog and a EXPANSION NICHOLAS IONIDES / SINGAPORE Air Macau considers move to A330 widebodies Assembly of the first A380 is due to start in Toulouse in early 2004. However, according to industry sources, the manufacturer had until recently been projecting a first flight in the fourth quarter of 2004. Although the flight-testing will now not start before January 2005, sources say that the pro gramme has enough margin built in to keep first deliveries to launch customer Singapore Airlines on schedule for March 2006. Meanwhile, Airbus is studying possible design and engine modifi cations to optimise the A380-800 for the Japanese domestic market. Although keen to minimise the changes, it is evaluating simplified internal layouts and other possible modifications to help meet the tar get turnaround time of 40min. Japan Air Lines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways are believed to have an eventual combined require ment for around 90 aircraft, two- thirds of which would be for JAL. Engine changes being studied for the General Electric/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200 and Rolls-Royce Trent 900 include significant thrust derates to opti mise the powerplant for the reduced take-off power demands of cras sit findings yiel fe clue! >u lat last k fro th 6 r cras of a r r 5 o final in r visibilit t Findel Airport faile t a clear n for th accident. airlin confirms t ther n indication fro the pilot of . <n 5 : / :onsider t \ Airbus has revealed that the first flight for the A380 has been moved into 2005 from the late 2004 schedule it has been targeting since programme launch two years ago. Speaking at the 2002 World Aviation Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, last week, A380 pro gramme senior vice-president Robert LaFontan said that the air craft will fly in "early 2005", but the March 2006 delivery target remains firm. Airbus plays down the slip, saying that it has always had a broad "late 2004/early 2005" first flight target, and that the pro gramme remains on schedule. ACCIDENT Air Macau is considering the addi tion of Airbus A330s to its fleet after losing business on Taiwan ser vices to Hong Kong's Dragonair. More than 70% of Air Macau's revenue is generated from flights between its Macau base and Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, the carrier says. Since July, when Dragonair was awarded rights to operate between nearby Hong Kong and Taipei using Airbus A330-300s, Air Macau has seen demand decline. As a result, the airline is being forced to look at the addition of A330s for Taiwan services, although the carrier's management is under stood to be divided over a move up to widebodies from Airbus A320 family narrowbodies. Air Macau confirms it has asked Airbus and air craft lessors to forward general infor mation, although it is not yet at the formal request for proposals stage. "For Air Macau to grow into widebody aircraft it is a very big decision," the airline says. "We are being very cautious on that." Air Macau began flying late in 1995 and now operates 10 A320 family aircraft - all but one of them on operating lease - and one wet- leased Boeing 757 for passenger ser vices. Last month it added dedi cated freighter services using a wet-leased Boeing 727F operating twice-daily between Shenzhen in southern China, Macau and Taipei. the domestic aircraft which will operate at lower weights. "Smart" engine and airframe health moni toring systems may also be adapted to compensate for the shorter cycles of the Japanese market. Engine Alliance is due to start detailed design of the GP7200 in December with first full engine tests in March 2004. Rolls-Royce successfully completed a fan con tainment test in October, and is preparing to run fan aerodynamic and noise tests from this month. The first full Trent 900 engine test run is set for 17 March, 2003, with certification due in October 2004. 330ft (100m) cloudbase, other aircraft, including a Fokker 50, had landed with no problems and there had been no diversions because of weather. It was daylight, 10:10 local time, the temper ature and dew point were 4°C (39°F), and although icing has not been ruled out, there is no evidence it was the cause. Within a few feet of hitting the ground, with gear down, the Fokker 50 crossed a road and hit a bank more than 3ft high. The aircraft was fitted with a ground proximity warning system, says Luxair, and the airframe had undergone heavy maintenance a few days earlier. This is the Luxembourg flag carrier's first fatal accident. Non-stop flights between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland have been banned since 1949, forcing passengers and cargo to make tran sit stops in Hong Kong or Macau. Like Air Macau, Dragonair earns much of its revenue carrying passengers and cargo between Taiwan and China via its home base. The two carriers are both controlled by Beijing-backed China National Aviation but operate as competitors. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12-18 NOVEMBER 2002 11
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