THIS WEEK
8 | Flight International | 13-19 January 2015 flightglobal.com
Enjoy more of David Learmount’s latest
insights into the world of airline safety at
flightglobal.com/learmountQATAR FIRMS UP DEAL FOR FOUR 777 FREIGHTERS
COMMITMENT Qatar Airways has finalised an order for four Boeing
777 freighters. The airline first announced plans to order the aircraft
at the Farnborough air show in July 2014. Qatar also has purchase
rights for four additional 777Fs, which will bring the total value of the
order to $2.46 billion if exercised.ISRAEL TO BOOST AT-802 FIREFIGHTING FLEET
ORDER Elbit Systems has been awarded roughly $100 million to
purchase another six Air Tractor AT-802Fs for the Israeli air force’s
firefighting squadron and run an expanded fleet of 14 aircraft for
eight years. Eight aircraft introduced following a forest fire that
claimed the lives of 45 people in December 2010 have so far flown
more than 4,600 sorties and helped to tackle over 500 blazes.BOMBARDIER SEALS LEARJET 75 CONTRACT
SALE Bombardier has secured a deal with an undisclosed customer
for up to nine Learjet 75 superlight business jets. The contract – for
six firm orders and three options – is valued at around $83 million,
the company says. The Learjet 75 entered service in 2013 as a re-
vamp of the 45XR, featuring more powerful Honeywell TFE731-40BR
engines, a Garmin G5000-based Vision flightdeck and new interior.P&WC CASTS MAGELLAN AS SUPPLY PARTNER
PRODUCTION Pratt & Whitney Canada has agreed a 10-year pact
with Magellan Aerospace, covering the latter’s supply of magnesium
and aluminium castings for current engines and its new PW1100G
geared turbofan. The latter is an option for the Airbus A320neo, with
variants to power the Bombardier CSeries and Mitsubishi MRJ.
Magellan says the agreement should generate total revenues worth
around C$250 million ($211 million).WARSAW SEEKS NEW VIP TRANSPORT PAIR
REQUIREMENT Poland’s defence ministry plans to buy two long-
range VIP transports, each capable of carrying a maximum of 12 to
14 passengers. To be crewed by air force pilots, the new aircraft will
complement a pair of Embraer 175LRs chartered from LOT Polish
Airlines since January 2014. Warsaw has been seeking a modern
VIP capability since an April 2010 Tupolev Tu-154 crash which killed
96 people, including President Lech Kaczy ́n ski.GEAR COLLAPSES AS SAAB 340 VEERS OFF RUNWAY
ACCIDENT UK investigators are looking into a gear-collapse incident
involving a Loganair Saab 340 operating for Flybe. The 2 January
incident took place at Stornoway airport in the Outer Hebrides in
Scotland. At 08:33 the aircraft “veered off the runway”, says the air-
port’s operator. Images from the scene show the turboprop in rough
grass with its nose-gear apparently having failed. Two of the 28 peo-
ple on board the aircraft suffered minor injuries.HISPANO-SUIZA PLANS POLISH PRODUCTION PLANT
INVESTMENT Safran’s Hispano-Suiza division is investing in a new
Polish plant to produce components for engines including the CFM
International Leap. The Leap will power the Boeing 737 Max and
Airbus A320neo, as well as Comac’s C919. The plant will be located
in the southeast – where local subsidiary Hispano-Suiza Polska has
a facility – and employ 100 personnel. It will have two production
lines, building low-pressure turbine blades for CFM partner Snecma
as well as compressor spools for Techspace Aero.BRIEFING
T
he 2014 calendar year was the
best ever for airline safety, ac-
cording to Ascend, a Flightglobal
advisory service.
Ascend’s director of air safety
and insurance, Paul Hayes, says
the global airline fatal accident
rate in 2014 was one per every
2.38 million flights, narrowly
making it the safest year ever.
The previous best had been
2012, when a fatal accident rate
of one per every 2.37 million
flights was recorded.
The latest figures exclude the
17 July 2014 loss of Malaysia Air-
lines flight MH17, on the grounds
that the Boeing 777-200ER was
shot down by a missile and is cat-
egorised by Ascend as having
been a war risk loss, rather thanan accident. However, although
doubts exist about the status of
the carrier’s missing flight
MH370, that incident has been in-
cluded in the fatal accident rate.
Flight International’s annual
review of global airline safety
shows that there there were 19
fatal accidents in 2014 – also the
lowest ever figure – and a com-
bined 671 fatalities. This com-
pares with 2013, during which 26
fatal accidents occurred and a re-
cord low of 281 fatalities was re-
corded, at a rate of one per every
1.91 million flights.
The average fatal accident rate
for the last five years was around
one death per every 1.75 million
flights. ■
See Feature PSTATISTICS DAVID LEARMOUNT LONDONFall in crash count
made 2014 safest
Lower fatal accident rate last year made it a record-breaking
one in aviation, but major incidents pushed up casualty totalA
irbus Helicopters’ Brazilian
subsidiary Helibras has deliv-
ered the first four of 36 AS
Squirrel and AS550 Fennec rotor-
craft modernised for the nation’s
army at its Itajubá site.
Modifications to the light single-
engined types included the inte-
gration of a glass cockpit with new
communication and navigation
equipment, plus additional ballis-
tic protection. Where possible, the
upgrades were developed by Heli-
bras, or delivered by other Brazil-
ian companies, including AEL
Sistemas, Sagem Defesa Aeronáu-
tica and Becker Avionics do Brasil.Separately, Elbit Systems of
America has been awarded a
$106 million subcontract from
Marsh Aviation to upgrade four
stored Grumman C-1As for Bra-
zil’s navy.
To be conducted at subsidiary
M7 Aerospace’s San Antonio,
Texas facility over a five-year pe-
riod, the work will replace the
type’s engines, avionics and com-
munications equipment and add
an air-to-air refuelling capability.
The re-designated KC-2s will be
dedicated to carrier onboard de-
livery and tanker duties from the
aircraft carrier São Paulo. ■The modified AS550 Fennec has received a new glass cockpitHelibras delivers army’s upgrades
ROTORCRAFT DOMINIC PERRY LONDON ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIVFelipe Christ/Helibras