flight international

AIR TRANSPORT

fiightglobal.com 8-14 March 2016 | Flight International | 13

IAG to stretch life

of valued assets

AIR TRANSPORT P

ASSEMBLY

Regional A330 advances for Saudia

Saudia’s first regional-variant Airbus A330-300 has entered final

assembly at the airframer’s Toulouse plant, under a 20-unit order

placed through International Airfinance Corporation last year. Airbus

says assembly is “well underway”, with the fuselage join progress-

ing and the aircraft set to move to the wing-mating station. The

Saudi Arabia flag-carrier will operate the type on short- and medium-

haul routes of up to 3,000nm (5,550km) in a high-density configura-

tion, with up to 400 passengers and a reduced weight of 200t.

Airbus

U

S regulators have granted

type certification to the

Chinese-built Harbin Y-12F util-

ity aircraft, around two months

after initial approval was se-

cured from the Civil Aviation

Administration of China

(CAAC).

CAAC says it first applied for

a concurrent certification of the

aircraft with the US Federal Avi-

ation Administration in 2006.

This is the first aircraft type to be

validated under the scheme.

AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry

has taken 10 years to achieve

certification for the F-model var-

iant, and its flight-test fleet has

completed almost 1,250 flights,

totalling 912h.

The Y-12F can accommodate

19 passengers or three LD3 cargo

containers. In its passenger ver-

sion, the aircraft has a range of

702nm (1,300km), while this is

reduced to 416nm for the cargo

variant. The type’s maximum

take-off weight is 8,400kg

(18,520lb), including a payload

of up to 3,000kg.

Powered by twin Pratt & Whit-

ney Canada PT6A-65B turboprop

engines, the F-variant retains the

high-wing configuration of previ-

ous Y-12 aircraft, but features a

larger fuselage with a reprofiled

nose area.

According to Chinese reports,

the manufacturer has received

nearly 50 commitments for the

Y-12F from both domestic and

foreign customers. ■

APPROVAL MAVIS TOH SINGAPORE

FAA certification

a major lift for

Harbin’s Y-12F

I

nvestigators pursuing the perpe-

trators behind the missile attack

on the Malaysia Airlines flight

MH17’s Boeing 777-200ER are

still trying to obtain first-hand

data which might show the track

of the weapon involved.

The joint investigation team

has disclosed details of progress

on the criminal inquiry in a letter

to relatives of those on board. It

hopes to gain a clearer sense of the

launch location of the Buk sur-

face-to-air missile during the sec-

ond half of this year, but says it

believes there are “no video or

film images” of the launch or tra-

jectory of the weapon.

While radar data is available, it

shows only the air traffic situation

during the 17 July 2014 attack.

“No missile is on the radar

image,” the inquiry team states,

adding that it does not have raw

primary radar information which

might have shown the weapon in

flight and narrowed the uncertain-

ty over its origin.

Ukrainian air traffic control and

radar technicians have explained

to the inquiry why there is no pri-

mary radar data available, and

while the Dutch public prosecutor

has sought to obtain raw data from

Russian authorities, so far none

has been received.

Investigators have previously

said that raw Russian radar data

was not preserved, and only video

footage of processed primary and

secondary data was supplied to

the inquiry.

In its letter, the inquiry team

says satellite data is available re-

garding the situation on the

ground, but that it has not ob-

tained any images showing the

missile launch.

“Owing to cloud, no usable im-

ages are available from the firing

location for the day on which

MH17 was shot down,” it says.

However, images from just before

and after the date of the attack are

contributing to its probe.

US intelligence services have

also shared confidential informa-

tion with Dutch counterparts

which could help pin down the

missile trajectory.

Radar data and US intelligence

information are “only two sources”

being used to identify the launch

site, says the investigation team,

adding: “There is a lot more.” The

inquiry has also gathered evidence

from telecom intercepts, phone lo-

cation data, video footage, witness

statements and technical calcula-

tions to plot the missile’s course,

while calculations have been made

by Dutch aerospace laboratory

NLR based on warhead fragment

damage on the wreckage and spe-

cific properties of the missile.

The inquiry says that, from

these sources, it is gaining “more

and more clarity” about the

launch location. In parallel, it is

continuing forensic analysis of

missile parts, which it says should

yield “conclusive” evidence

strong enough to put to a court.

But investigators warn that the

judicial process, including identi-

fication, detention and extradi-

tion, could take “a lot of time”. ■

UPDATE DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

MH17 investigation narrows

Inquiry team is gaining more clarity about launch location, but warns of long road to justice

REX/Shutterstock

Work continues to determine who downed Malaysia Airlines 777

FIN_080316_013.indd 13 02/03/2016 15: