--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: F2K00029 Date: 02/13/98 From: JIM SANDERS Time: 12:21pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: News-035 Fire destroys Rio airport RIO DE JANEIRO - Feb 13, 1998 06:54 a.m. EST - Fire ripped through Rio de Janeiro's domestic service airport early Friday, de- stroying its main terminal and closing it to air traffic, authorities said. "We have a huge fire at the Santos Dumont airport. The whole building was destroyed," said fire Chief Rubens Jorge Ferreira Cardoso told reporters. Eighteen people were evacuated from the burning building near Rio's downtown but no serious injuries were reported, they said. Authorities said the cause of the blaze was not known although local television said it may have been sparked by an electrical short circuit. "There's a possibility the fire started at a car rental agency on the second floor of the terminal," Cardoso said. All traffic, including the busy Rio-Sao Paulo shuttle that flies every half hour, was diverted to Rio's main international airport, Galeao, about nine miles away, Brazil's airport authority, Infraero, said. The fire broke out about 2 a.m. (11 p.m. EST Thursday) and quickly spread throughout the terminal, authorities said. Television footage showed the building engulfed in flames, with smoke pouring out of the windows. Explosions sparked by the fire raised fears the flames could spread to fuel deposits near the terminal, witnesses said. The fire raged through dawn and the building was still smolder- ing at mid-morning. Asked why the fire had still not been doused, a firefighter at the scene said: "We lacked water, everything." Santos Dumont, built in 1936, is Rio's second and one of the country's busiest. It handles 9,000 passengers a day and employs an equal number. A short walk from the city's downtown, Santos Dumont sits on Guanabara Bay. Passengers who land and take off from there have a spectacular view of Rio's famed Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer statue. ------------------------------------------------------------------- SPLA retracts claim it shot down Sudanese plane NAIROBI, Kenya - February 13, 1998 07:54 a.m. EST - The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army on Friday retracted a claim that its forces shot down a military plane that crashed in southern Sudan on Thursday, killing Vice President Al Zubair Mohammed Saleh and 25 other people. SPLA official spokesman John Luk Jok told AFP on Friday that "the SPLA did not shoot down the plane, as it did not have any forces in the Nasir area," where the plane crash-landed. On Thursday, Nairobi-based SPLA political affairs secretary Justin Arop said the plane "had actually been hit by SPLA fire." The Sudanese government said that after the forced landing at Nasir, in Upper Nile State about 500 miles south of Khartoum, in bad weather and poor visibility, the plane slid off a wet runway into the Sobat river, a tributary of the White Nile. Arop said Thursday that the plane was on its way to Juba, the main town in the south, and crashed near Wau in Bahr el-Ghazal state, far to the west of Nasir, which is on the Ethiopian border. "The Sudanese team, including journalists, were due to land at Wau first before going on to Juba, where they were due to tell southern Sudanese at a rally that Wau was all quiet and that there were no SPLA fighters near the town," Arop said. "But our fighters still hold all the areas surrounding the Wau airport and were able to easily hit the plane from the ground," he said, adding that he had spoken to the SPLA field commander in Wau by radio. On Friday, Luk said the Sudanese government team was flying to Upper Nile State to explain to southern Sudanese loyalists the lat- est situation in Sudan after the return in January to the SPLA side of rebel faction leader Kerubino Kwanyin Bol. Luk said another Sudanese government team, led by Riek Machar, who defected from the SPLA to head a body set up to rule southern Sudan on behalf of the government, had flown by another route to Juba on a similar mission. -------------------------- --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: F2K00030 Date: 02/13/98 From: JIM SANDERS Time: 10:02pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: News-036 Crew in gondola disaster defended ROME - Feb 13, 1998 5:01 p.m. EST -- Attorneys representing the crew of a U.S. jet that severed a ski gondola's cable last week said Friday a U.S. AWACS surveillance plane following the jet found it was flying along its planned altitude and route. The U.S. military has acknowledged the EA-6B Prowler was flying below the approved altitude of 500 feet when it sliced the gondola's cable during a training flight through the Italian Alps on Feb. 3. The gondola plunged to the ground, killing the cable car operator and 19 skiers inside. The Italian government says the plane was off course. Bruno and Antonio Malattia, the Italian attorneys for the pilot and three crew members, did not say what the planned altitude was or whether they were directly challenging the military's statement. But they argued the jet was flying the altitude called for on the flight plan. The Malattias also said the cable car was not marked on the flight maps, and that it had no signal to warn of its presence. Another cable car at a different location was on the map. No one answered the telephone at the public information office at the U.S. air base at Aviano, where the Marine Prowler squadron is based. Bruno Malattia contends the pilot did not see the cable until the last minute and sought to avoid it. An Italian prosecutor is investigating the case, as are Ameri- can officials. The judge in the case will appoint independent ex- perts to determine the exact height of the cable, the state of the cable car and whether the plane's altimeter was working, the lawyers said. A hearing was set for Tuesday to choose an expert. ------------------------------------------------------------------- FBI probing gunshot fired at Delta jet leaving Atlanta ATLANTA - Feb 13, 1998 8:12 p.m. EST -- The FBI is investigating a gunshot that struck a passenger window of a Delta Air Lines jet taxiing for takeoff at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, police said Friday. Nobody was hurt in the incident. The plane bound for Mobile, Ala., was forced to return to the gate Thursday after the outer shell of the triple-pane window on the Boeing 727 was broken, said FBI spokeswoman Celestine Armstead. Investigators have recovered the bullet, which was found lying between the window panes. They believe the shot was fired from out- side the boundaries of the airport, which lies between an interstate and heavily traveled streets. "There was no breach of airport security," said Armstead. Atlanta police increased their presence around the airport's perimeter Friday. Marcus Miller was sitting one row ahead of the window that was hit. "We were starting to accelerate to take off when we heard a loud explosion on the window. It scared everybody," he said. "Everybody started screaming 'Stop the plane! Stop the plane!"' Delta spokeswoman Kimberly King said all the passengers were taken off the damaged airplane and rerouted. Miller said the passengers took the gunshot in stride. "A couple of us put paper targets we drew on paper in the windows," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Air traffic tapes of Guam crash released WASHINGTON - Feb 13, 1998 3:30 p.m. EST - "We got a big fire on the hillside up here," a plane reported to air traffic controllers in Guam last August, confirming their suspicions that a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 had just crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration Friday released audio tapes of controllers' conversations at the time of the Aug. 6 crash that killed 228 of the 254 people on board. KAL flight 801 hit Nimitz Hill three miles short of a runway at Guam's international airport. After acknowledging clearance by the airport control tower to land, nothing further is heard from the 747 on the tapes. Nearly nine minutes after that communication, the tower can be heard asking Guam's radar approach facility if they have have heard back from KAL 801. The following exchange between the control centers takes place. "He checked in with me. I cleared him to land. I don't know where he's at - never did have him in sight," says the tower. "You never saw him?" asks the approach facility. "Negative," says the tower. "He didn't land?" the approach facility presses. "Negative," the tower confirms. "Oh my god," says an approach controller. Six minutes after that conversation, Ryan International flight 789 reports the fire on the hillside. The National Transportation Safety Board's probe of the crash is continuing, but evidence so far points to a controlled-flight-into- terrain accident -- the most frequent type of air accident around the world. The NTSB has said KAL 801 suffered no engine or structural fail- ure before the crash and was in a steady descent with the crew un- aware of how close they were to the ground. Factors contributing to the accident are thought to include an inoperable glide slope indicator at the airport, and heavy rain that impaired visibility. On one of the tapes the approach center warns KAL 801 that the glide scope is unusable. (should be slope. Jim) The flight from Seoul was normally flown by an Airbus plane, so the 747 crew was less familiar with the approach and may have been poorly prepared to make a landing without the glide scope.(error) Because the plane crashed so close to a radio beacon on the hill, some experts have suggested the crew may have thought the beacon was the airport. === --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 196 AVIATION Ref: F2K00031 Date: 02/13/98 From: JIM SANDERS Time: 10:59pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: News-037 Kenyan plane crash kills 9 NAIROBI, Kenya -- (February 13, 1998 3:01 p.m. EST) -- A small plane crashed into the cloud-covered Ngong Hills west of Nairobi on Friday, killing all nine people on board, including journalists reporting on flying in Africa. "All nine were South Africans, and there were no survivors," said Sarel Kruger, deputy head of mission at the South African Embassy. The Swiss-made Pilatus PC-12 crashed into a hill about 10 miles west of its destination, Nairobi's Wilson Airport, said Maina Kamau, air traffic controller duty officer. The flight was returning from the Maasai Mara game park. ------------------------------------------------------------------- New Dept. of Transportation rule Feds require more complete passenger manifest for international flights WASHINGTON -- Feb 13, 1998 4:22 p.m. EDT -- The U.S. Department of Transportation issued final rules requiring airlines to collect the full name of each U.S. citizen on international flights so loved ones could be quickly notified in case of a crash. The passenger manifest rules were just one of a flurry of air travel announcements made on the first anniversary of the White House aviation safety commission's final report. Beginning October 1, U.S. and international airlines will be required to ask those passengers to offer a contact name and tele- phone number. In the event of an accident the list would be given to the U.S. State Department. The DOT said the action follows recommendations last year by both the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and the Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters. Joe Lychner, a member of the task force who lost his wife and two daughters on TWA Flight 800 in 1996, urged travelers to provide a contact number. "In the case of TWA Flight 800, this rule would have dramatical- ly reduced the time it took to notify the victims' family members and subsequently saved hours and sometimes days of pain ..." Lychner said in a statement. The DOT is also seeking public comment on whether the rules should be extended to domestic flights. The Transportation Department announced other final rules on fire detection and suppression systems in aircraft cargo compartments. To advance action on another commission recommendation, the Federal Aviation Administration asked for public comment on the use of child seats in aircraft for children under 40 pounds. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dangerous O'Hare landing leads to new rules CHICAGO -- Feb 13, 1998 1:50 p.m. EST -- Moments after an Amer- ican Airlines jet missed the runway and skidded to a stop in a muddy field at O'Hare International Airport, air traffic controllers cleared two more planes to land on the same runway. One landed safely, but the pilot of the other aborted after seeing the damaged plane still stuck at the runway's side. Although no one was hurt, the dangerous situation at O'Hare International Airport on Monday prompted criticism, an investigation by the NTSB, and a new landing policy, announced Thursday by American Airlines. The new policy affects older 727s with less sophisticated navi- gational equipment, and sets new guidelines deigned to give pilots more time to decide whether to abort a landing. It will be in effect for the duration of the NTSB's investigation. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FAA orders new fire-safety gear for cargo on planes WASHINGTON -- Feb 13, 1998 1:50 p.m. EST -- Over the next three years, airlines must outfit their cargo holds with systems to detect and fight fires, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered. The FAA order, issued Thursday, covers 3,700 aircraft and all newly manufactured planes. Previously some holds were not required to have smoke or fire detectors on the theory that because they were sealed, the lack of oxygen would snuff any fire. The rule-making is the last formal step in a process started with the May 11, 1996, ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades that killed 110 people, a crash blamed on a fire in the cargo hold. In the ValuJet case, an illegally loaded cargo of oxygen canisters fed the flames. The investigation led to demands for detectors and fire suppres- sion systems in all cargo holds. Some airlines already have begun to retrofit their planes, the FAA said. Airlines are expected to complete the process within three years and are to make quarterly progress reports to the FAA. === --- DB 1.39/004487 * Origin: Volunteer BBS (423) 694-0791 V34+/VFC (1:218/1001.1)