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General Electric has been forced to remove parts of its GE90 test engine from the 747 testbed to try and overcome problems with the low-pressure spool, in an effort to ensure the engine meets its November 1994 certification target. Boeing has meanwhile told Rolls-Royce that it will need to test the Trent 800 for the 777 on a 747 testbed because of the problems both Pratt & Whitney (with the PW4084) and GE have experienced with their respective 777 engine programmes.
Newsdesk — Commercial Aviation
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A330 Crash Report Reveals Inadequacies:
The crash of a company owned Airbus A330 whilst undergoing pre certification tests at Toulouse on June 30 has raised questions about crew coordination, flight preparation and the wisdom of conducting such tests at very low altitude. The A330 crashed 45 seconds after liftoff for a flight in which the aircraft was deliberately flown on autopilot in extreme conditions, including an aft centre of gravity, 28 degrees nose up attitude, simulated failure of the port engine and simulated major hydraulics system failure. Seven people died in the accident including Airbus chief test pilot Nick Warner, co pilot Michel Cais, flight test engineer Jean-Pierre Petit and four others including representatives from Alitalia. The report into the accident by French Authorities cites several contributing factors with inadequate preparation, poor crew coordination and the fact that the autopilot and trim were configured incorrectly. The report questions why passengers were being carried on such a flight, although it did not mention another possibly important point — that Michel Cais (an instructor at Airbus Industrie’s Flight Operations Support Division) was not a qualified test pilot. Cais performed the takeoff, Warner taking control when the emergency developed. The flightcrew of the A330 had performed multiple tasks earlier in the day of the accident, but not together. Nick Warner’s day was particularly busy, starting with an A321 demonstration flight for Northwest Airlines pilots, followed by an A340 simulator flight and marketing commitments with a Japanese television crew. Warner, Cais and Petit then flew the A330 on a brief test flight which included two touch-and-go landings before embarking on the final flight. The first step in the disaster occurred during the taxy out to takeoff. This is when the briefing (a very short discussion) on the planned mission took place, rather than beforehand. According to the accident report the major contributing factors after that were: selection of a 2000ft altitude autopilot setting (the absence of pitch limit protection in the autopilot’s altitude acquisition mode played a major role in the accident); selection of takeoff-go around (TOGA) maximum power (a lower power setting should have been selected to avoid extreme asymmetry); a trim setting of -2.2° was selected (zero would have been better due to the aircraft’s aft C of G); an imprecise distribution of tasks (the improperly set autopilot was engaged immediately after rotation); and a “tardy decision” by the pilot to regain manual control after the emergency began. The A330 reached a peak altitude of just 1278ft (389m). At one stage speed was reduced to only 77kt (143kmh), while the peak rate of descent was 7500ft (2286m) per minute and the left bank attitude 110 degrees. Impact occurred at a speed of 156kt (290kmh) at 15 degrees nose down pitch and 18 degrees left bank. The report noted that if the autopilot had been disengaged four seconds earlier than it was, impact could have been avoided. And if the aircraft had been operating at a sensible altitude…
Qantas Assists In 737-X Definition:
Qantas is providing Boeing feedback as it develops its new 737-600, 700 and 800 family of twinjet airliners. Being developed to counter the increasingly successful high tech Airbus A319/320/321 series, the new Boeings will have seat capacities of between 108 and 184 passengers. The only model formally launched so far is the 737-700, equivalent in capacity to today’s 737-300. The new 737s will feature upgraded engines, higher cruise speeds, a new wing and greater range than the current models. The Airbus A320 is at the moment faster and longer legged than the 737 and is capable of non stop transcontinental flights across Australia and the USA at speeds matching those of the widebody twins.
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