January 9, 1989

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HEADLINE NEWS

Insurance Rates Will Remain Stable, Despite Bombing of Pan Am 747

LONDON Loss of the Boeing 747 destroyed in the Pan American World Airways bombing is unlikely to have an immediate effect on aircraft hull insurance premiums, but may contribute to changes in conditions under which airlines may operate with continued war-risk coverage.

HEADLINE NEWS

Limiting Access to Indian Report May Have Hurt Chances of Detecting Pan Am Bomb

LONDON The limited distribution of the final Indian government report on the destruction of an Air-India Boeing 747 may have restricted access to information that could have tightened security before the bombing of Pan American Flight 103.

HEADLINE NEWS

Effect of Crash on Pan Am Expected to Be Minimal

NEW YORK Pan American World Airways’ loss of the Boeing 747-100 destroyed in the bombing of Flight 103 will have little impact on the carrier’s operations. Pan Am may have to revise plans for refurbishing or modifying older aircraft.

By JAMES T. MCKENNA

HEADLINE NEWS

Victims’ Families Face Tough Test In Suing Pan Am Over Lockerbie Crash

NEW YORK The kin of persons killed on Pan Am Flight 103 will have a difficult time suing for damages exceeding the $75,000 per passenger set by international agreements, lawyers said last week. For the kin to win more damages, they must demonstrate that Pan Am acted with “willful misconduct” or that irregularities existed involving tickets issued to Flight 103 passengers. The latter is considered unlikely.

HEADLINE NEWS

Security Levels Increased At Frankfurt, Heathrow

FRANKFURT HEATHROW Increased security levels were evident at both Frankfurt and London’s Heathrow airport terminals last week as part of the growing airline and airport effort to bolster commercial airline safety. This AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY editor flew a round-trip flight between Frankfurt and Heathrow last week to observe the security changes at the two airports.

By KEITH M. MORDOFF

HEADLINE NEWS

FAA Issues Stricter Baggage Inspection Requirements

HEATHROW The FAA has issued stricter requirements for inspecting checked baggage for U. S. airline flights from Europe and the Middle East in response to the bombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 103 ( AW&ST Jan. 2, p. 28). U. S. airlines have been directed to carry out a number of additional security procedures including the screening of all checked baggage and matching of all luggage to the passengers.

HEADLINE NEWS

USAF May Install Engine Inlet Deicers on B-1B Bomber

WASHINGTON The Air Force may install engine inlet deicers on B-1B bombers to prevent damage from ice ingestion. Wind tunnel tests conducted by Rockwell have confirmed that ice can accumulate on the inlets. The ice that breaks off is then ingested into the bomber’s four General Electric F101 turbofan engines, damaging the turbine blades.

HEADLINE NEWS

Military Airlift Command Increases Security Measures

BOSTON Gen. Duane H. Cassidy, commander in chief of the Military Airlift Command, has directed that its aircraft security measures be increased worldwide in the wake of the Pan Am bombing. Cassidy met last week at MAC headquarters with military cargo and passenger movement specialists to review the security situation.

HEADLINE NEWS

Soviets Flight Test Two New Aircraft

PARIS The Soviet Union has begun flight testing two new aircraft—the Tupelov 204 twin-engine passenger transport and the Antonov An-225 heavyweight airlifter. First flight of the Tu-204 occurred Jan. 2 from a Moscow-area airport. Service introduction of the aircraft is planned for 1990.

HEADLINE NEWS

U. S. F-14s Down Libyan MiG-23s In Dogfight Over Mediterranean

WASHINGTON U.S. Navy F-14s last week shot down two Libyan MiG-23s over the Mediterranean 70 mi. north of the coastal city of Tobruk. The U. S. fighters fired in self-defense only after repeated attempts to avoid the MiGs were unsuccessful, Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci said.

By BRENDAN M. GREELEY, JR.

January 21989

January 161989

January 9, 1989

January 9, 1989

Insurance Rates Will Remain Stable, Despite Bombing of Pan Am 747

Limiting Access to Indian Report May Have Hurt Chances of Detecting Pan Am Bomb