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12 | Flight International | 8-14 March 2016 flightglobal.com

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M

ore than five months after

an uncontained engine

f ailure that left it with significant

fire damage, a patched-up

British Airways Boeing

777-200ER has been flown from

Las Vegas McCarran airport for

further repairs.

Following the incident, which

happened early during a take-off

roll on 8 September 2015, BA and

Boeing made an assessment of

whether the 16-year-old twinjet

could be returned to service.

In December, it was deter-

mined that G-VIIO could be re-

paired, and “certified to the same

high standards as if the aircraft

was brand new”. Work conduct-

ed so far has involved replacing

its left-hand General Electric

GE90 engine, repairing fire-dam-

aged sections of its forward fuse-

lage and work on the tail section.

On 26 February, the aircraft

was transferred to the Southern

California Logistics airport in

Victorville, where Boeing will

complete the repair and repaint-

ing project. Surveillance data in-

dicates it was flown to a maxi-

mum altitude of 36,000ft. ■

I

ndonesian Aerospace (IAe) is

eyeing the possibility of devel-

oping a 70- to 80-seat aircraft,

says director of technology and

development Andi Alisjahbana.

At the Singapore air show last

month, Alisjahbana said the N

could follow the company’s N245;

a proposed commercial variant of

the Airbus Defence & Space

CN235 medium transport, and its

in-development N219.

A first, brief mention of the

N270 appeared in a January state-

ment issued by Indonesia’s Minis-

try of Industry. This suggested

that Jakarta is supportive of IAe’s

N245 and N270 proposals, as well

as a turboprop airliner project, the

R80. The latter is designed by pri-

vate company Regio Aviasi Indus-

tri (RAI), which aims to have four

prototypes ready for testing by

2019, and to secure full certifica-

tion by late-2021.

In order for state-owned IAe to

develop the N270 it will need to

conduct market studies and se-

cure development funding. It will

also have to monitor the results of

the R80, Alisjahbana says.

IAe has expressed interest in

developing the new aircraft, de-

spite the potential difficulties it

could face in securing financing.

Asked whether he expects the

N270 to clash with the R80, Alis-

jahbana says that while both air-

craft could be similar, this is not

an issue for IAe, which could end

up producing both.

“The only difference is: if the

R80 gets to be developed first, RAI

is the owner [of the aircraft]. They

are the ones who sell the aircraft,

and they are the ones who secure

the profit. We’re only building the

aircraft [as a contractor], and we

get paid for each aircraft that gets

built,” he says. “The [seat] differ-

ence between an R80 and N

will be marginal. What’s key here

is that it’s made in Indonesia.”

RAI president Agung Nugroho

agrees with the IAe official.

“The N270 is basically an early

definition of class, not of a particu-

lar aircraft itself,” he notes. “Indo-

nesia, as far as I know, plans to

develop a series of aircraft, starting

from very small ones like the [19-

seat] N219, which is now being

developed by IAe. Then there will

be 50-seaters and 70-90-seaters.”

The R80 will serve the higher end

of this range, he adds.

Indonesia’s previous indige-

nous ambitions led to the first

flight of the 68-seat N

twin-turboprop in 1995. The

programme was terminated dur-

ing the Asian financial crisis

three years later, with only two

aircraft built. ■

A

irbus plans to resolve issues

with the Pratt & Whitney

PW1100G powerplant by

mid-2016, which will allow

Qatar Airways to start taking de-

livery of its A320neos.

Speaking in Tianjin, China on 2

March, Airbus chief executive

Fabrice Brégier conceded that the

re-engined narrowbody still needs

to reach expected performance

standards, having encountered is-

sues related to software and start-

up time for the P&W powerplant.

“By mid-year – this is at least

our goal – we will have a very re-

liable A320neo with Pratt &

Whitney engines, which will

allow us to ramp up production

and deliveries in the second half

of the year,” says Brégier. “We

have a gentlemen’s agreement

with Qatar to postpone delivery,

and they will take the aircraft

when we believe it is mature

enough for them.”

Qatar had been due to receive

its first of 34 A320neos last

December, but rejected the pro-

gramme’s lead aircraft due to the

engine issues. Instead, Lufthansa

became the first recipient. ■

INCIDENT CRAIG HOYLE LONDON

No gamble for BA

as fire-damaged

777 leaves Vegas

Twinjet flown to Victorville, California for further repairs, after

replacement of GE90 engine behind September 2015 blaze

DELIVERIES MAVIS TOH TIANJIN

Qatar waits on A320neo

powerplant performance

“By mid-year – this

is our goal – we will

have a very reliable

A320neo with Pratt

& Whitney engines”

FABRICE BRÉGIER

Chief executive, Airbus

DEVELOPMENT FIRDAUS HASHIM SINGAPORE

IAe thinks big with N270 design

G-VIIO departed McCarran airport on 26 February

AirTeamImages

Barry Ambrose

Gulf carrier was due to accept type last December

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