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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0680.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT INVESTIGATION DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON Mistakes on go-around blamed for Cronje crash Report also faults airport ILS and possible aircraft instrument errors for accident The flightcrew's loss of situational awareness during a go-around was partly to blame for the 2002 con trolled flight into terrain (CFIT) crash of a BAe 748 in which former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje was killed. The AirQuarius Air Charter BAe 748 Series 2A crashed on 1 June 2002 killing both pilots and Cronje - who was the sole passenger on board - while attempting to land at George airport in South Africa after a cargo flight from Bloemfontein. According to the accident report produced by the South African Civil Aviation Authority, other fac tors include possible faults with the instrument landing system at George airport and possible aircraft instrument faults. Inbound at first light to George in windy, rainy weather, the air craft used the standard let-down procedure to join the ILS for run way 29, which is aligned with a val ley that has mountains to the north. The airport air traffic control service was unmanned at the time. During the ILS approach the cap tain commented that they were too high, and both the pilot flying - the co-pilot - and the captain reported red flags on their horizon tal situation indicators, which nor mally indicates a poor signal. The captain ordered a go- around, and during the procedure the co-pilot, who had low total hours and also few hours on type, made a steep turn left beyond the correct heading to take the aircraft back overhead of the aerodrome. The captain warned the co-pilot of this and gave him a heading to roll out on, but a strong wind from the south west caused the aircraft to drift north of track toward high ground, where it crashed 14km (8km) north east of the airport. The CAA has recommended that both ILS installations at George are replaced and that ATC there should have radar. LAUNCH Wizz poised East European budget start up Wizz Air is poised to launch services this week fol lowing delivery of its first Airbus A320 at the Berlin air- show. The aircraft is the first of six Wizz will take over the next two months on lease from Debis AirFinance. The carrier will begin flights on 19 May from Katowice in Poland, and its aircraft are being sup ported by Lufthansa Technik. RENEWAL Berjaya eyes short take off twins Malaysia's Berjaya Air has asked ATR and Bombardier to calculate if any of their twin-engined turbo- props can operate from two 1,000m (3,280ft) island airstrips now served only by four-engined de Havilland Dash 7s. Berjaya seeks to add at least one twin-engined aircraft early next year to supplement its exist ing fleet of four Dash 7s. General manager Lim Kian Hui says the new aircraft would be used to boost capacity to Redang and Tioman islands and launch new longer-range ser vices to Indonesia and Thailand. Technical data on the short take-off and landing (STOL) capability of the ATR 42-320 and -500, and Bombardier Dash 8 Q200/Q300 is to be submitted to Berjaya within the next two months. Berjaya then hopes to demonstrate those aircraft deemed feasible for Redang and Tioman and select the aircraft most economically viable. A fifth Dash 7 will be acquired if a newer twin-engined aircraft is not feasible or viable. Berjaya needs more capacity following the March opening of Redang's airfield, which it built in conjunction with the expansion of a resort operated by its sister company. Berjaya is a niche leisure carrier specialising in ser vice to small island airstrips from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. EXPANSION RAINER UPHOFF/BOGOTA TACA prepares for Venezuelan expedition Central America's TACA Group looks set to branch into Venezuela, having initiated the process of obtaining an air operator's certifi cate (AOC) in the country. The identity of the group's expected local partner is not known. Although the airline declines to confirm the move, a source within the Venezuelan civil aviation administration says that TACA Group - which comprises six Latin American carriers - has requested that the procedure to secure the AOC be started. Nelson Ramiz, the head of Venezuela's largest airline, Aeropostal, says that he is aware of the TACA move and has instructed lawyers to evaluate the legal status of a local airline being managed by a foreign carrier. "The market in Venezuela is in bad shape," he says. "The advent of a foreign carrier to the domestic market can be a danger to the via bility of many thinner routes. We will obviously object formally against the TACA project." TACA Group is an an alliance of six independent carriers in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hon duras, Nicaragua and Peru, which have some common ownership. The group's chief executive Charles Donley has revealed that it had requested approval from the US De partment of Transportation to use a single designator code - TA - and a single trade-name for all the airlines in an effort to strengthen its brand image and allow it to compete more effectively with larger carriers. "The TACA carriers believe that what they are seeking is fully con sistent with the letter and spirit of the open skies agreements that their homelands have entered with the USA," says Donley. "An easily identifiable mark will notify con sumers about the identity of the operating carrier." www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 18-24 MAY 2004 13
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