GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES
An international team hoping to market a Westernised version of the Beriev Be-200 in the Caribbean and USA is vowing to continue its efforts despite a US Federal Aviation Administration warning that certification will be rejected.
The FAA has told Liberty Group International (LGI), a Delaware-based holding company, that it will deny the planned Russian/Ukrainian application for US approval of a Rolls-Royce-powered version based on "budgetary issues". The FAA has declined to grant waivers to allow a standard Progress D-436TP-powered Be-200 to be brought to the USA for a five-month firefighting demonstration.
News of the rejection comes on the eve of an expected announcement at this week's Moscow air show that Be-200 manufacturer Irkut plans to develop a version with EADS using the Rolls-Royce BR715 turbofan.
Source: Flight International
