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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1495.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT SECURITY HERMAN DE WULF / BRUSSELS 737-800 radio silence sparks alert Fighters scrambled as Air Europa aircraft fails to respond to air traffic controllers on flight from Oslo to Palma Spanish accident investigators are trying to establish why the crew of an Air Europa Boeing 737-800 failed to respond to radio calls while flying across Europe. The 1 May incident sparked a major security alert and an investi gation has now been launched fol lowing a complaint from the Netherlands government. Air Europa has begun an investigation. The Spanish-registered 737, with 186 passengers on board, crossed most of Europe without making radio contact with air traffic control (ATC). The aircraft had left Bergen, Norway, for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, according to its flight plan. When the aircraft entered Dutch airspace, it failed to contact Eurocontrol. Maastricht ATC called the aircraft a number of times, but the pilots did not respond. It is standard procedure for air craft flying under instrument flight rules to continue their journey according to their flight plan if radio problems arise. However, if the crew is aware of a radio failure, it is required to set the transponder to the radio-failure code. Since the 2001 US terrorist attacks, authorities are on high alert for airliners behaving strangely. As the 737's flight plan indicated it would overfly Brussels, where NATO and European Unfon headquarters are located, the for mer was alerted and the Dutch air force scrambled two Lockheed Martin F-16As to investigate. As the 737 was heading for the Belgian border, the Belgian air force was also put on alert. Two F-16s were put on 2min stand-by, but did not scramble as the Dutch F-16s had enough fuel. The French air force also launched two Dassault Mirage 2000s to relieve the Dutch fighters. Radio communications were restored lh 45min after the alert. SUBCONTRACT HAL extends Airbus A320 door deal India's Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has boosted its civil man ufacturing operations through a follow-on deal with Airbus to build A320-family forward passenger doors, writes Nicolas lonides. HAL says it signed a deal with Airbus in July covering "a renewal plus an expansion" of an existing contract for A320- family doors. HAL has been manufacturing forward passen ger doors for Airbus since 1992 and says the number made to date is "nearing 500". The contract covers the sup ply of 1,000 shipsets to Airbus and is valued at around Rp3.8 billion ($82 million), says HAL. India's government says the contract was won "against stiff global competition" and is a breakthrough "as it has given fur ther impetus to HAL to get a good share in the global market". Last month Airbus unveiled plans to boost output significantly over the next two years, and seeks to expand its outsourcing. "The ramp-up is an opportunity to increase the amount of work with existing suppliers as well as to add new suppliers and coun tries," said chief operating officer Gustav Humbert Flight International, 27 July—2 August). LAUNCH Moroccan low-cost carrier starts flying Atlas Blue, the new low-cost subsidiary of Royal Air Maroc (RAM), launched services last month using a Boeing 737-400 transferred from its parent. The Moroccan government and flag carrier RAM created Marrakesh-based Atlas Blue to offer competitive point- to-point leisure services between Morocco and key tourism markets. The single 737-400 is initially being used solely on charter services to France exclusively for travel firm Etapes Nouvelles, but the fleet will expand to six -400s from the winter season and the network enlarged to include Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. GROWTH VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW Kaliningrad lease signals expansion Kaliningrad Avia has signalled plans to expand and launch inter national services by signing a lease deal for five Boeing 737 Classics. It aims eventually to operate 19 of the type. Based in the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, the airline has signed an operating lease deal for five ex-Aer Lingus 737s - one -400 and four -500s - from leasing company Barkham. Four aircraft will be delivered this year and one next. The airline aims to avoid pay ing taxes on the 737s because they will operate only international routes and Kaliningrad is desig nated a free economic zone. Kaliningrad Avia executive direc tor Leonid Itskov says the deal marks the launch of the airline's project to establish an international hub at Kaliningrad Khrabrovo air port to function as a transfer point between mainland Russia and Europe. The carrier aims to eventu ally operate a fleet of 19 737s as part of the hub project, says Itskov. The airport is currently undergo ing major development with the construction of a new international passenger terminal complex, the first stage of which is due to be completed in the second quarter of next year, with the whole project to be concluded by 2007. Loss-making Kaliningrad Avia now operates an all-Russian fleet of seven Tupolev Tu-134s and two Tu- 154s. It is being restructured by its major shareholder, Moscow River Steam-shipping. 12 17-23 AOGUST 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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