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UPDATE 
Week ending January 16, 2000
+++ Crossair Saab 340 crashes near Zurich +++ Another record year for Airbus +++ German Police in Stuttgart orders MD Explorers +++ Arianespace to be busy in 2000 +++ Boeing acquires Hughes space and communication business +++ News in brief +++


Crossair Saab 340 crashes near Zurich
Absturz einer Saab 340 bei Zürich

On January 10, a Crossair Saab 340 crashed after take off from Zurich. The aircraft was airborne two minutes before radar contact was lost. The three crew members and all seven passengers on board perished in the accident. All victims have been identified. According to Andreas Heiter, head of Swisscontrol's Zurich office, Crossair flight 498 departed Zurich en route to Dresden at 17:54:40. Takeoff was from Zurich Airport's runway 28, heading west. Radar contact was lost at 17:56:36. The last contact with the pilot was recorded some 30 seconds earlier. After this last radio message the aircraft executed a turn to the right although the normal flight path would have taken flight 498 in the opposite direction, to the left. The reasons for this manoeuvre, and for the accident itself, remain unknown at this time. The impact site is some four miles (seven kilometres) from the point of takeoff, near the village of Niederhasli.
The cockpit crew members of flight 498 were Pavel Gruzin, a Moldovan, who piloted the aircraft, and Ratislav Kolesar, a Slovakian, who was the co-pilot. The aircraft that was lost had been in the Crossair fleet since 1990, having accumulated 21 600 flight hours and 20 587 takeoff and landing cycles. The pilots were both highly experienced and had completed examinations at Crossair that correspond to Swiss standards. The Captain had accumulated 8100 hours of flight duty time, including 1100 on the Saab 340. The co-pilot had some 1800 flight hours, 1100 on the Saab 340.

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Another record year for Airbus
Airbus: Rekordjahr 1999

With 476 new firm orders valued at US $ 30.5 billion, 1999 was the second best year ever in terms of order intake for Airbus Industrie. With 55 percent of all orders announced for the year, this gives the European consortium its best ever market share. Airbus Industrie only counts orders for which a firm contract has been signed, a down-payment was made, and, where required, government approval obtained. These orders include 408 A320 Family airliners, giving Airbus Industrie 58 percent of all orders placed in the 100-200 seat category, and 68 long range A330/A340s. This Family hereby won a 75 percent share against its direct competitor. In addition to the 476 firm orders, Airbus Industrie has obtained 103 firm commitments.
Furthermore, in 1999, Airbus Industrie delivered, as planned, 294 aircraft, including 222 single-aisle and 72 widebody and long range airliners, giving the consortium a turnover of US $ 16.7 billion, its highest ever. This brings the total number of delivered Airbus aircraft to 2,188, valued at US $ 120.8 billion, with an outstanding backlog of undelivered aircraft reaching 1,445, valued at some US $ 100.1 billion, and representing more than four full years of production at increasing production rates. In the past five years since the end of 1994 the backlog was more than doubled.
Commenting on these results, Airbus Industrie Chief Executive Officer Noël Forgeard highlighted their significance both for the consortium and the products themselves. "With a 55 percent market share in 1999, after almost 50 percent in 1998, Airbus Industrie has confirmed that it is now established on a par with its competitor", he said. "What is even more important to us, is that these results have been achieved while simultaneously significantly improving our margins", he added.

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German Police in Stuttgart orders MD Explorers
MD Explorer für Polizei in Baden-Württemberg

The state police of Baden-Wurttemberg, based in Stuttgart, has ordered three twin-engine MD Explorers with an option to purchase two more. The first three aircraft will be delivered in 2001. Delivery of the two additional helicopters would occur in 2002. The state police of Lower Saxony, based in Hannover, Germany, operates three MD Explorers. Hannover and Stuttgart conducted an exhaustive evaluation -- rating more than 1,000 characteristics of various twin-engine helicopters - before selecting MD Explorers. The MD Explorer is renowned for its spacious cabin and smooth, quiet operation. It also is the worldís only twin-engine helicopter with single-pilot instrument flight rule (IFR) and Category A certification from either the Federal Aviation Administration or the Joint Aviation Authorities. The MD Explorer is manufactured by MD Helicopters in Mesa, Arizona. Worldwide, a fleet of 57 MD Explorers has flown nearly 40,000 hours since the first aircraft was delivered in 1994.

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Arianespace to be busy in 2000
Hohe Startrate geplant

Arianespace is off to a fast start in 2000, announcing its first order of the new decade and scheduling an ambitious launch pace with the objective of five Ariane 5 missions and 8-10 flights for the Ariane 4. In his annual New Year's press briefing in Paris, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton said the company's first order in 2000 is for France's Spot 5 Earth imaging satellite. With this contract, Arianespace's backlog of satellites to be launched is 41 -- representing a combined order book value of 3.2 billion Euros (the equivalent of $3.1 billion).
Arianespace has come off an excellent year, during which the company won some 80 percent of the GTO (geostationary transfer orbit) launch contracts open for commercial bid. The 12 orders booked by Arianespace were from the total 15 contracts competed internationally in 1999. The company recorded revenue of just under 1 billion Euros in 1999 (about $1 billion), and is expected to show a profit for the year when its final results are reported. Luton noted the satellite launch market in 1999 was smaller than the previous year, but there are clear signs of an upswing for 2000. Three to four new competitive RFPs (requests for launch service proposals) have been issued by satellite manufacturers oroperators in recent weeks, and this trend is expected to continue in the months to come.

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Boeing acquires Hughes space and communication business
Zukauf von Hughes-Raumfahrtaktivitäten durch Boeing

On January 13 Boeing and Hughes Electronics Corporation announced that Boeing will acquire Hughes' space and communications business and related operations for a value of $3.75 billion in cash. This transaction will boost Boeing's space and communications revenues and earnings by more than a third and will provide for significant future growth. It will be accretive to earnings per share in its first full year of operations, 2001. The Hughes businesses, which anticipate 1999 revenues of $2.3 billion, when added to Boeing's space and communications operations, will initially create an entity with annual revenues approaching $10 billion. "Boeing intends to be number one in space. This acquisition is a significant step forward in executing our goal of becoming the industry leader in integrated, space-based information and communications," said Phil Condit, Boeing chairman and chief executive officer. "It is an excellent strategic fit with substantial synergies."
Under the definitive agreement, Boeing also will acquire Hughes Electron Dynamics, a leading supplier of electronic components for satellites, and Spectrolab, a premier provider of solar cells and panels for satellites. The three businesses have a combined workforce of about 9,000 employees, primarily in the Los Angeles area. Boeing is currently the largest private employer in California with a workforce of 36,700. Today's transaction is subject to regulatory and government reviews and is expected to be finalized by the end of the second quarter. The new business unit, to be named Boeing Satellite Systems, will be part of Boeing's Space and Communications group, led by President Jim Albaugh. Boeing Satellite Systems will be headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., under the leadership of Tig Krekel, currently the president of Hughes Space and Communications.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

The German procurement agency has finally signed the contract for the MTR390 engines powering the Tiger attack helicopters of the Heeresflieger. The helicopter itself had been ordered last summer, and industry had been getting nervous over the delays of the propulsion contract. The order to MTU Turboméca Rolls-Royce GmbH is worth 430 million DM.
+++
The German air force (Luftwaffe) lost six soldiers in eight aircraft accidents last year. Thus, safety has been improved after a negative trend in the previous years. But the accident rate is still clearly above long term averages. Most of the accidents were traced to pilot error. The Luftwaffe therefore intends to emphasise good training, crew resource managmnt and operational risk management techniques even more in the future.
+++
Confirming earlier rumours, Thomson-CSF has said that it will buy Racal Electronics for 1,32 billion Pounds. This will propel the combined company to a turnover of 7,51 billion Euros and creates one of the big players in European defence electronics. The move counters consolidations like EADS and BAE Systems.
+++
In another crash by a Swiss operated aircraft in a few days, a Shorts 360-300 (HB-AAM) came down off the coast of Libya on 13 January. 41 people were on baord, and some of these could be rescued, including the two pilots. They had been forced to ditch at around 14.30 hours after both engines failed, first reports indicated. The 360 was operated by Avisto AG, which has its headquarters at Oberglatt near Zurich. The aircraft was ferrying oil workers from Tripolis to Marsa al Brega.
+++
Air France will help Proteus Airlines to take over Flandre Air by taking up convertible bonds needed to finance the deal. This allows Air France to become a shareholder in Proteus in the next five years. The move is to strengthen ties with regional franchise carriers.
+++
On January 10, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems (LMAS) has signed a contract with the Italian government for the acquisition of two additional C-130J aircraft. The new aircraft are the longer "-30" variant of the C-130J, which have a much greater cargo-carrying capability. This will bring the number of aircraft on order for the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) to 20. The contract contains options for additional aircraft, which are anticipated to be exercised in early 2000. The Italian configuration is among the most sophisticated yet developed for the aircraft. It has a highly advanced suite of communications and defensive systems equipment. This includes U/VHF combined multi-band radios and a laser warning receiver system.
+++
Russia seems to have found fresh money to continue using the Mir space station. $7 million from a British company are promised to carry out a scientific experiment on the Mir. The state-controlled RKK Energia company, which built and has run Mir since its launch in February 1986, repeatedly tried to attract foreign investments. Energia deputy chief Valery Ryumin said the British company Golden Apple had transferred $7 million to Energia's account with another installment to follow after a cargo ship to Mir is launched on Jan. 31. The cargo ship is to carry supplies for a crew set to blast off on March 30 for a Mir mission that would last at least 45 days. The Russian Space Agency approved the mission, but it still needs final endorsement by the Cabinet.
+++
Bombardier Aerospace has announced that The Fair Inc. of Tokyo has ordered two new Canadair Regional Jet aircraft for its regional airline operations scheduled to commence in mid-2000. Established last year, The Fair Inc. will acquire and operate two CRJs obtained from a European operator. It will add two new aircraft from Bombardier in its third year of operations in 2002. The first two 50-seat jets, based in Sendai, will serve business oriented routes such as Hiroshima-nishi/Haneda.
+++
Aerospace components and services are becoming increasingly important areas of operations within Volvo Aero. Consequently, an Aerospace Components Business Area is being formed comprising of Commercial Engines, Volvo Aero Norway and Space Propulsion. Erling Vister, currently head of Commercial Engines, is being appointed Senior Vice President and manager of the Aerospace Components Business Area. After the change, Volvo Aero will have five business areas: Aerospace Components, Engine Services, The AGES Group, Military Engines and Gas Turbines.
+++
On January 13, Bombardier Aerospace anounced that Nagasaki Airways Co. Ltd. has placed a firm order for one Q200 turboprop for its regional airline operations in Nagasaki Prefecture on Kyushu, Japan's westernmost province. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2001. Nagasaki Airways, which was established in 1961, will fly the Q200 on the Iki-Fukuoka and Iki-Nagasaki routes. Planned utilization is about 2,000 hours per year. In the Asia-Pacific region as a whole in 1999, Bombardier sold 11 Q Series and seven CRJ aircraft to eight operators.
+++
Following negotiations led by its central purchasing department, Deutsche Lufthansa AG has inked a comprehensive agreement with SAP AG that more than doubles its current investment in SAP software. Lufthansa has been using SAP software since 1981, when it deployed the SAP R/2 mainframe system. In 1995, Deutsche Lufthansa AG's executive board selected the SAP R/3 software suite as the strategic solution for all business and administrative tasks within the Lufthansa group. Since then, almost all of the R/2 system has been upgraded to R/3. Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo use R/3 for their financial operations in more than 100 locations worldwide. Lufthansa subsidiary Lufthansa Technik uses the SAP Aerospace and Defense industry solution and participated in the development of this solution as a pilot customer.
+++
On January 11, Raytheon announced it will sell its flight simulation and associated training business to L-3 Communications Corporation for $160 million in cash. Other details of the transaction were not disclosed. Raytheon's flight training and services and flight simulation businesses are involved in the manufacturer of aircraft and vehicle simulators and the provision of support services, operations, maintenance and pilot instruction for those simulators. Raytheon's other commercial training businesses are not a part of the sale. The flight training and services and flight simulation businesses have more than 2,600 employees located at facilities in Arlington, Texas; Binghamton, New York; Broken Arrow, Okla.; Orlando, Fla. and at customer sites around the world.
+++
Axel Arendt (50) has been nominated as the new Director of Finance and Controlling at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa, Munich). As Dasa announced, Arendt, who is currently the president of Mercedes-Benz Turkey, will assume his new function on 1st February 2000 in Munich (Ottobrunn). He will report directly to Dasa's chairman Dr. Manfred Bischoff. Alex Arendt will take over a section that has been newly re-created at Dasa. As part of the restructuring of the Daimler-Benz group at the time, Dasa's Finance and Balance-Sheet Department was amalgamated with the Finance Department of the parent company in Stuttgart in 1997.
+++
The latest IATA Freight Forecast estimates that growth in international air freight traffic will average 5.5% per annum during 1999-2003, an increase of 0.2 percentage points on the average level of IATA's 1998-2002 freight forecast. Following recovery in the Asian markets, freight traffic growth is estimated to have exceeded 6 % in 1999. Annual growth rates are now expected to decline slowly over the period to a 2003 level just above 5%.
+++
When NASA's Galileo spacecraft swooped past Jupiter's moon Europa, it picked up powerful new evidence that a liquid ocean lies beneath Europa's icy crust. As the spacecraft flew 218 miles (351 kilometers) above the icy moon on January 3, its magnetometer instrument studied changes in the direction of Europa's magnetic field. Galileo's magnetometer observed directional changes consistent with the type that would occur if Europa contained a shell of electrically conducting material, such as a salty, liquid ocean. It appears that the ocean lies beneath the surface somewhere in the outer 60 miles (about 100 kilometers), the approximate thickness of the ice/water layer, according to Kivelson, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
+++
The devastation caused in parts of Europe by recent storms is being surveyed using the radar and optical observation satellites ERS and SPOT of the European Space Agency and the French national space agency CNES. In the aftermath of the two violent storms that swept through France and Germany between December 26 and 28, two ERS satellites and three SPOT satellites are providing day-to-day information on the disaster-struck areas. By comparing the new images with historical data, an assessment can be made of the extent of damages sustained by forests in these areas. The results are made available for use by regional, national and European-level decision-makers (both private and government) to draw up an overall inventory of the damages. In France, for example, Earth observation experts are assisting forestry representatives under an emergency programme set up by the Forestry and Rural Management Authority of the French Agriculture Ministry. User requests for satellite image data are being handled by Spot Image. The response of ESA and CNES to this emergency is a direct result of the commitment they made on 22 July 1999 at the Unispace III conference, pledging to provide rapid, useful satellite data during natural catastrophes.
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Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen sind weiter abrufbar:

*January 9, 2000

*December 19, 1999 *December 12, 1999 *December 5, 1999

*November 28, 1999 *November 21, 1999 *November 14, 1999 *November 7, 1999

*October 31, 1999 *October 24, 1999 *October 17, 1999 *October 10, 1999 *October 3, 1999

*January to September 1999 *January to December 1998 *January to December 1997 *September to December 1996

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