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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 2780.PDF
WORLD NEWS Japan may call for 747 changes TOKYO ~ The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) is likely to call for at least three design changes in the Boeing 747 as a result of its investigation into the crash on August 12 of Flight JL123, in which 520 people died, reports Chris Birkett. Concern at the JCAB is centred on 747 damage toler ance and systems redundancy. JCAB airworthiness division deputy director Shingeharu Matsunaga tells Flight that the Bureau is examining whether a service door in the fuselage behind the aft pressure bulk head, which is designed to act as a blowout panel in the case of pressurisation of the normally unpressurised tail section, is large enough. The JCAB is also consid ering recommending a separ ately located and independent hydraulic backup system, and the fitting of a sealed bulkhead between the fin torsion box and the rear fuselage on which it is fixed, which would prevent the fin pressurising. These recommendations are expected to be included in the accident investigation team's final report. Meanwhile, Japan Air Lines (JAL) says: "Boeing admits that repairs done by it were improper, and there is a strong possibility that they contributed to the accident". Boeing last week proposed joint compensation with JAL for the victims' relatives, despite the fact that the manu facturer officially denies liabil ity. Boeing reasons that there is a strong possibility it will be held liable and that contact with the relatives over compensation is inevitable sooner or later. The US manu facturer says that victims' rela tives should not have to await the results of litigation before being paid. Boeing and JAL will decide their respective shares of the compensation payout after the final report has been published. Neither is prepared Laser 300 shows changes Omac has frozen the design of its Laser 300 business and utility aircraft, for which it is seeking certification in mid-1987. The most noticeable change is a new round-section fuselage enclosing a cabin 5ft high and more than 5ft across, but there is also more baggage space and improved aerodynamics. to estimate the size of claims, but Japanese press reports put the likely figure at about 50,000 million yen ($250 million). In Japan it is believed that Boeing instigated the joint approach with JAL to forestall litigation by victims' relatives in US courts, which may have awarded higher damages. Boeing's response is that a US court would award damages to Japanese passengers based only on Japanese standards of compensation. Atlantis takes flight KENNEDY SC ~ Launch of the fourth Space Shuttle Orbiter, Atlantis, on its maiden flight on military mission 51J was announced just 9min before lift-off on October 3 to foil Soviet monitoring attempts. The US Air Force has refused to comment on specu lation that the payload for this, the 21st Shuttle flight and its second classified mission, was a pair of DSCS III defence communications satellites. This would imply the use of Boeing's inertial upper stage (IUS) to place the piggyback satellites into geostationary orbit. IUS has flown twice before on Shuttle and once previously on Titan 34D to orbit two DSCS space craft. Atlantis, commanded by USAF Col Karol Bobko on his third Shuttle mission, was also rumoured to be carrying Cirris, a payload-bay experi ment to detect aircraft by infrared, and a laser retro- reflector for Strategic Defence Initiative research. Atlantis was to return to Earth on October 7. Greece signs A. 109 pact ATHENS ~ Hellenic Aerospace Industries (HAI) is to participate in production of the Agusta A.109 helicopter, following the signing of an agreement between the two companies. Under the terms of the deal the Italian and Greek compa nies will collaborate on the design and manufacture of avionics and aerospace mat erials, with HAI producing fuselage parts for both military and civil versions of the A.109. HAI has also secured the right to assemble and export the helicopter. A new designation for the helicopter, likely to be the Agusta-Hellenic A.109, is expected to be agreed soon. Ariane fault found PARIS Malfunctioning of the ignitor has been ruled out as the cause of the defective third-stage > ignition that resulted in the loss of Ariane V15 and its two- satellite payload, Spacenet 3 andECS-3. The board of inquiry set up^ by Arianespace after the loss on September 13 has deter mined that "a sealing defect of^ the engine hydrogen feeding valve" delayed third-stage, ignition by 0 • 4sec, causing the engine to shut itself down. The Ariane 3 was destroyed by the" launch safety officer. Arianespace and the engine, manufacturer, SEP, are now studying the corrective actions to be taken. Launches are' expected to resume before the end of the year, says Ariane-^ space. Launches had been planned for November (Ariane 1: Spot 1 and Viking) and"1 December (Ariane 3: Gstar II andBrasilsatS2). * Eutelsat, which was to have operated ECS-3, is investi gating the possibility of launching ECS-4 earlier than planned, in the spring of 1986.- Preparation for ECS-5 could also be accelerated to allow a launch in 1987, says Eutelsat. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 12 October 1981
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