Commercial Aircraft Sales

A total of 1097 people died in 29 accidents last year, while 653 were killed in 30 accidents in 1991. The important ‘passengers. killed per kilometre travelled’ statistic rose from 0. 04 to 0. 06 per 100 million. Charter flight accidents claimed slightly fewer victims in 1992-366 as against 385 while hijackings and terrorist attacks against civil aircraft killed nine and injured 123. Seven were killed and two wounded in 1991.

Happy Anniversary Stanley:

It’s not often that you find one person in the same profession for so long, particularly in this day and age where corporate loyalty appears to mean little.

Anexception to that rule however is noted aviation writer, Stanley Brogden who last month celebrated the anniversary of his 50th year as an aviation journalist. Not bad for a lad’ who is also due to celebrate his 80th birthday this September.

If your humble (and ageing) editor is around that long then pity our poor readers! Seriously though, congrats Stanley on a job well done in professionally documenting Australia’s aeronautical heritage over so many decades.

 Boeing Makes Good on 747FUSE PINs:

In the wake of last year’s Boeing 747 crash in Amsterdam when two engines departed the wing after suspected fuse pin failure, Boeing has offered to replace at no cost the pins on the world’s fleet of 747s with a stronger unit.

Tests on 747 fuse pins have revealed that under some circumstances the pins are subject to forces eight to ten times greater than anticipated by engineers. If the pins were in good condition they would survive, but corroded or cracked pins could fail.

Despite maintaining there has been so far no confirmed evidence to link the EIAI and another 747 crash with the fuse pins (the official cause has not yet been released), the company has developed a new pin manufatured from corrosion resistant steel with a wall thickness more than twice that of the original pin. The result will be a pin with a greater fatigue life than before in combination with less susceptibility to corrosion.

Usatc Software Problems:

The US Federal Aviation Administration’s at tempts to modernise its air traffic control (ATC) system seems to have something in common with Australia’s similar efforts in that problems with the programme are resulting in lengthy delays.

The USA’s Advanced Automation System (AAS) is suffering problems with its computer software, prime contractor IBM recently announcing a 14 month slippage in the $US5. 1bn programme. A further 19 month schedule slip was previously announced (in late 1990), meaning the first test system will be delivered to the FAA Technical Centre in April 1994 and the first fully operational system to Seattle in 1995.

Not all the delays have been caused by the complexity of the very advanced software. Some 500-700 changes have to be made following air traffic controllers’ rejection of functions and operations which had already been ‘prototyped’.

Wrong Number!

Yes we know! The caption on p71 of our May issue claims that the Boeing 737s are 300 when of course they are the larger-400s. A frustrating typo that definitely passed through our three layer proofing operation without being detected.

An item that also seems to have created some confusion was our caption on p14 of the same issue re the certification of locally designed aircraft. We were flooded with irate Victa owners asking “where is the Airtourer?” The caption of course clearly (we thought) refers to FAR23 types and the lovely Victa was certificated originally to a much simpler category and certainly not the modern era FAR23 However, we did get it wrong in Rotor Torque (p79) re the Polair Jetranger being wrecked by a wave near Sydney. The unfor tunate helo of course was a Twin Squirrel. Sorry about that.

Thai Defers Orders:

In the wake its internal reorganisation, Thai Airways is to defer the delivery of eight aircraft planned for 1994 and has cancelled options on a further 13.

The move is part of a general cost cutting drive by Thai and follows previous announcements regarding the airline reducing its capacity, improving operating efficiency and increasing profitability (refer AA 9/92 p21 and 3/93 p22). The deferred orders are for seven Airbus A330s and one Boeing 747-400 (a 12-15 month delay has been sought) while options on seven A330s and six Boeing 777s have been cancelled. A firm order for eight 777s remains in place and the airline also. has firm orders for eight A330s and six 747-400s.

Air Traffic Services Centre Issue Rolls On:

The Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to relocate the Air Traffic Services Centre at the Launceston campus of the University of Tasmania continues to provoke controversy.

The CAA has defended its decision saying it was based on advice received after a review by experts in training and air traffic control. The recommendations pointed out the need to focus training on actual tasks of air traffic control in an operating environment, involving conducting training which is coordinated with one of the major ATC centres, either Melbourne or Brisbane.

But the Tasmanian Premier, Mr Groom, is lobbying the Prime Minister in an attempt to save the centre (and the 65 jobs it provides) and has urged Tasmanian Federal Labor MPs to oppose the closure. An in-depth feature on the future of the centre will appear in our next issue.

 De Havilland Temporary Shutdown:

Canada’s de Havilland is the latest airliner manufacturer to feel the effects of a slowdown in orders and will close its Dash 8 regional turboprop production line for two months from early July.

The move follows leasing company GPA Jetprop’s decision to cancel near term orders and reschedule future options and is necessary to “minimise long term risk to the operation and to minimise impact on customers, employees and suppliers”, according to the company.

Production of the Dash 8 will resume at a rate of two per month in September and the aircraft’s 1993 production total will be reduced from 24 to 21. De Havilland will continue work on its subcontract programmes which include Canadair CL-415 components, paint and interior work on the Canadair Regional jet, design and manufacturing work on Learjet wings and P-3C Orion component manufacture.