Boeing 747 retirement: Farewell to the 'Queen of the Skies'

more at
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/de...ght/index.html

Marana, Ariz. (CNN) — For the first time in 48 years, you can't buy a ticket on
a US airline to fly on a Boeing 747.

On Wednesday, Delta Air Lines Flight 9771 touched down in Marana, Arizona, an
arid boneyard for stored and cannibalized jetliners. A three-hour-and-33-minute
journey from Atlanta.

The last of the airline's 16 jumbo Boeing 747-400s flew to a desert retirement,
ending operations by passenger airlines in the United States.

Both Delta and United Airlines have been saying goodbye to the jumbo for months.
A final domestic revenue flight, a last international trip, a final charter.
Those last trips became more of a farewell tour than a formal end.

But Wednesday's departure on ship 6314 was the true grand finale.

Pan American Airways debuted the enormous two-deck airliner in January 1970, and
flights by US passenger airlines have been flying uninterrupted ever since. The
747 was a marvel of engineering when it first flew months before the first moon
landing in 1969.

Earning the moniker "queen of the skies," the 747 was postage stamp famous, an
icon of pop culture, and the backdrop of movies, television and a flying emblem
of the US presidency as Air Force One.

"Everybody stands up at the terminal and goes to the glass and they go 'that's a
747'," said Capt. Stephen Hanlon, 62, Delta's chief 747 pilot, who was in
command of the final flight.




*

"Miloch" wrote in message news

more at
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/de...ght/index.html

The last of the airline's 16 jumbo Boeing 747-400s flew to a desert
retirement, ending operations by passenger airlines in the United States.

They'll soldier on for at least twenty more years in the Third World, where
maintenance costs (and lives) are cheap:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015...sturbing-truth

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-d..._b_252090.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEv0OFwZZw
https://psmag.com/economics/are-some...us-to-fly-3460

Anyone dying during the Hajj goes straight to Allah's bosom:
http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=480575
http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=19910711-0

http://www.traveller.com.au/aircraft...-planes-goxrc7

Pic: "The report notes that 'the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority did not
know of the closure of the runway...nor was it aware of the NOTAM until the
accident ...'"

Also:
http://www.traveller.com.au/worlds-b...-awards-gwv9t3

On Mon, 8 Jan 2018 17:00:05 -0600, "Byker" wrote:

"Miloch" wrote in message news

more at
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/de...ght/index.html

The last of the airline's 16 jumbo Boeing 747-400s flew to a desert
retirement, ending operations by passenger airlines in the United States.

They'll soldier on for at least twenty more years in the Third World, where
maintenance costs (and lives) are cheap:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015...sturbing-truth

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-d..._b_252090.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEv0OFwZZw
https://psmag.com/economics/are-some...us-to-fly-3460

Anyone dying during the Hajj goes straight to Allah's bosom:
http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=480575
http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=19910711-0

http://www.traveller.com.au/aircraft...-planes-goxrc7

Pic: "The report notes that 'the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority did not
know of the closure of the runway...nor was it aware of the NOTAM until the
accident ...'"

Also:
http://www.traveller.com.au/worlds-b...-awards-gwv9t3


There is a problem with those articles.

If, for whatever reason, you are going to visit a point on the network
of an airline with a dubious safety record do you refuse to fly on
that airline? The obvious answer from those articles may well be
"yes" but what is the alternative to flying? Whilst the accident
rate of the airline may be higher than "good" carriers the accident
rate on the roads to your destination is likely to be pretty
horrendous and the risk is probably higher than flying. And that
assumes there is a road. 40 years ago I was in Nepal and the place I
was visiting was a 2 day walk from the nearest road. Even today the
road is only described as "jeepable", There's an airfield; little
more than an area of grass on a peninsular overlooking a river and
still 4 hours walk to the village. I walked in and would have flown
out but the flight was cancelled so I walked out!

In article , Graham Harrison says...

On Mon, 8 Jan 2018 17:00:05 -0600, "Byker" wrote:

"Miloch" wrote in message news

more at
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/de...ght/index.html

The last of the airline's 16 jumbo Boeing 747-400s flew to a desert
retirement, ending operations by passenger airlines in the United States.

They'll soldier on for at least twenty more years in the Third World, where
maintenance costs (and lives) are cheap:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015...sturbing-truth

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-d..._b_252090.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEv0OFwZZw
https://psmag.com/economics/are-some...us-to-fly-3460

Anyone dying during the Hajj goes straight to Allah's bosom:
http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=480575
http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=19910711-0

http://www.traveller.com.au/aircraft...-planes-goxrc7

Pic: "The report notes that 'the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority did not
know of the closure of the runway...nor was it aware of the NOTAM until the
accident ...'"

Also:
http://www.traveller.com.au/worlds-b...-awards-gwv9t3


There is a problem with those articles.

If, for whatever reason, you are going to visit a point on the network
of an airline with a dubious safety record do you refuse to fly on
that airline? The obvious answer from those articles may well be
"yes" but what is the alternative to flying? Whilst the accident
rate of the airline may be higher than "good" carriers the accident
rate on the roads to your destination is likely to be pretty
horrendous and the risk is probably higher than flying. And that
assumes there is a road. 40 years ago I was in Nepal and the place I
was visiting was a 2 day walk from the nearest road. Even today the
road is only described as "jeepable", There's an airfield; little
more than an area of grass on a peninsular overlooking a river and
still 4 hours walk to the village. I walked in and would have flown
out but the flight was cancelled so I walked out!

Are you talking about Lukla? I did the Everest trek in 1977...walked in from
Lamosago eventually getting to 20,000' at Kalapatthar. It took about four
weeks...walked out until I got to Lukla and caught the last plane out for two
weeks!

Good times...was in my thirties...when I was in the best shape I've ever been.




*

On 8 Jan 2018 16:37:18 -0800, Miloch
wrote:

In article , Graham Harrison says...

On Mon, 8 Jan 2018 17:00:05 -0600, "Byker" wrote:

"Miloch" wrote in message news
more at
http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/de...ght/index.html

The last of the airline's 16 jumbo Boeing 747-400s flew to a desert
retirement, ending operations by passenger airlines in the United States.

They'll soldier on for at least twenty more years in the Third World, where
maintenance costs (and lives) are cheap:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015...sturbing-truth

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-d..._b_252090.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEv0OFwZZw
https://psmag.com/economics/are-some...us-to-fly-3460

Anyone dying during the Hajj goes straight to Allah's bosom:
http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=480575
http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=19910711-0

http://www.traveller.com.au/aircraft...-planes-goxrc7

Pic: "The report notes that 'the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority did not
know of the closure of the runway...nor was it aware of the NOTAM until the
accident ...'"

Also:
http://www.traveller.com.au/worlds-b...-awards-gwv9t3


There is a problem with those articles.

If, for whatever reason, you are going to visit a point on the network
of an airline with a dubious safety record do you refuse to fly on
that airline? The obvious answer from those articles may well be
"yes" but what is the alternative to flying? Whilst the accident
rate of the airline may be higher than "good" carriers the accident
rate on the roads to your destination is likely to be pretty
horrendous and the risk is probably higher than flying. And that
assumes there is a road. 40 years ago I was in Nepal and the place I
was visiting was a 2 day walk from the nearest road. Even today the
road is only described as "jeepable", There's an airfield; little
more than an area of grass on a peninsular overlooking a river and
still 4 hours walk to the village. I walked in and would have flown
out but the flight was cancelled so I walked out!

Are you talking about Lukla? I did the Everest trek in 1977...walked in from
Lamosago eventually getting to 20,000' at Kalapatthar. It took about four
weeks...walked out until I got to Lukla and caught the last plane out for two
weeks!

Good times...was in my thirties...when I was in the best shape I've ever been.




*

No, western Nepal - Baglung.

"Graham Harrison" wrote in message
...

There is a problem with those articles.

If, for whatever reason, you are going to visit a point on the network of
an airline with a dubious safety record do you refuse to fly on that
airline? The obvious answer from those articles may well be "yes" but
what is the alternative to flying?

Third-world natives can't be picky in areas where there are few roads.

It's just a matter of time before a Guru Airways 747-200 prangs with 800
curry-munchers packed aboard: https://tinyurl.com/y8xa6q4h. In the past I've
seen "flyable" 747s going for as cheap as $1 million and 727s being offered
at $250K.

The article below is par for the course when it comes to Sub-Saharan
airlines. The Lockheed L-188 Electra now carries cargo mostly, but in the
Dark Continent, the natives are packed aboard SRO, and folklore is rich with
tales about, when a fuselage is full, those with only a few shillings to
spend will be stuffed into the baggage compartments as "freight", meaning
that on takeoff these 50-year-old airframes are carrying two or more times
the number of passengers they were designed for. "Many private airlines
operate out of Zaire, with relatively few controls over safety and
maintenance." Of course, most aren't FAA-certified. "There have been a
spate of plane crashes in the region recently." As long as all those
involved are native Africans, it's no big loss. More details:

http://tinyurl.com/jrxpn87 (dead link)
https://aviation-safety.net/database...?id=19951218-0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_T..._Electra_crash
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mystery surrounds Angola plane crash victims

KINSHASA (Dec 20, 1995 - 09:17 EST) - The identity of 139 people killed when
a Zairean charter flight crashed in northern Angola on Monday remained a
mystery two days after the world's worst air disaster of 1995.

An Angolan government official said on Wednesday the plane crashed in
Angola's Lunda Norte province near the Zairean border and may have been on
charter to Jonas Savimbi's opposition UNITA movement.

Zaire's transport minister, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, said 139 of the 144
people on Monday's flight from Kinshasa had been killed. Doctors said four
of the survivors were in intensive care with serious burns.

"There were 139 people on board, plus five crew. There were only five
survivors," Thambwe Mwamba told Reuters on Tuesday.

A ministry official said most of the dead were Angolans but had no further
details. Thambwe Mwamba had no precise details on where the plane went down,
its destination or on the identity of the passengers.

Lunda Norte governor Moises Ndele told Angolan state radio the plane had
crashed in the UNITA-controlled Cuango area of the province.

"The plane could have been rented by UNITA coming from Zaire via Damba,
which is a region under UNITA's control in Uige province.

"The plane crashed around the Cuango area, an area under UNITA control," he
said, adding that aircraft from Zaire frequently landed at an airstrip close
to the town of Luzamba.

Another theory suggested a link with the diamond trade.

Many of the diamonds produced in Angola's remote Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul
regions are smuggled out via Zaire and large numbers of Zaireans regularly
travel to eastern Angola to dig for diamonds or buy them to sell.

For many years Zaire was accused of supporting Savimbi's UNITA rebels, who
controlled much of the diamond area but have since agreed a peace deal with
the government in Luanda.

Many private airlines operate out of Zaire, with relatively few controls
over safety and maintenance. In May 1994, Zaire's acting foreign minister
and a Tunisian presidential aide were among nine people killed in a crash on
the approach to Kinshasa's Ndjili airport.

A transport ministry official said the plane used for Monday's charter
flight was an Electra, based at Ndjili and owned by Trans Service Airlift, a
private company.

Officials could not say what caused the crash but Thambwe Mwamba said an
inquiry was under way. "I also have to speak to the owner of TSA, who is a
Belgian. I hope we should know more in the next few days," he said.

Hospital staff said five survivors were flown to Kinshasa on Tuesday and
four were in intensive care in Ngaliema clinic.

"They have been badly burned and their condition is serious. At this stage
they are unable to talk," a doctor said.

A fifth survivor, the co-pilot, had been taken away by his family. Five
corpses were also brought back from Angola.

Reference books suggest the largest Electra, a plane built by Lockheed,
entered service worldwide in 1959 with an intended capacity of 99 passengers
or 12 tonnes of cargo.

There have been a spate of plane crashes in the region recently. On December
3 a Cameroon Airlines Boeing 737 crashed as it came into land at Cameroon's
Douala port, killing 72 people.

In Nigeria's latest accident last month, a Nigeria Airways Boeing 737
crashed on landing at Kaduna airport in the north, killing nine people and
injuring 44.

Before Monday's crash, the worst air disaster of 1995 involved a Russian
Aeroflot Tu-154 which disappeared on December 7 with 97 people on board. The
wreckage was found on Monday inland from the Tatar Strait.

http://www2.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/w...orld556_3.html

On 2018-01-09 21:24:14 +0000, "Byker" said:



"Graham Harrison" wrote in message
...

There is a problem with those articles.

If, for whatever reason, you are going to visit a point on the network of
an airline with a dubious safety record do you refuse to fly on that
airline? The obvious answer from those articles may well be "yes" but
what is the alternative to flying?

Third-world natives can't be picky in areas where there are few roads.

It's just a matter of time before a Guru Airways 747-200 prangs with 800
curry-munchers packed aboard: https://tinyurl.com/y8xa6q4h. In the past I've
seen "flyable" 747s going for as cheap as $1 million and 727s being offered
at $250K.

Snip

In 1983 I flew on a PanAm 747 from Johannesburg to JFK, via Monrovia,
Liberia. This had to be one of the oldest 747s in the PanAm fleet, if
not the oldest. It seemed that every interior panel was loose and about
to peal off. They should have issued appropriate tools to the
passengers to make repairs en route. It felt as though it was a
decrepit buggy feeling every pothole in a rough road for that entire
seemingly never ending flight.
--
Regards,

Savageduck