The
Hawker Siddeley HS
748 is a medium-sized
turboprop
airliner originally designed by
Avro in the late 1950s as a replacement for the
now-aged
DC-3s then in widespread service as
feederliners. Avro concentrated on
performance, notably for
STOL operations, and
found a dedicated market. 380 aircraft were built by Hawker
Siddeley. A larger development, the
BAe ATP,
attempted to compete with the
de Havilland Canada Dash 8 but
saw a limited production run.
Development
The original 748 design started in 1958 after the infamous
Duncan Sandys 1957 Defence White Paper ended most
military manned aircraft development in the UK, and Avro decided to
re-enter the civilian market. The
Vickers Viscount had the large end of the
short-haul market neatly wrapped up, so Avro decided to design to a
smaller
regional airliner design
to replace the many
DC-3 Dakotas that
were now reaching the end of their lifespan. Avro was not the only
company to see the potential for a DC-3 replacement, and by this
point the
Fokker F27 Friendship
was well advanced. Avro decided to compete by producing a design
with better short-field performance, allowing it to operate from
smaller airports.
BKS Air Transport Avro 748 Series 1 at
Manchester in 1964
The first aircraft flew from Avro's Woodford plant on 24 June 1960,
and two prototypes quickly proved the type's short field
performance. 18
Avro 748 Series 1 aircraft were
produced, the first for Skyways Coach-Air, but the majority for
Aerolíneas Argentinas. By
this point, Avro's individual identity within the
Hawker Siddeley Group had ended and the
design was known as the
HS 748.
The 748
Series 1 and Series 2 was licence-produced in India
by Hindustan Aeronautics as the
HAL-748. HAL built 89 aircraft in India, 72
for the
Indian Air Force and 17 for
the
Indian Airlines
Corporation.
The
ICAO
designator as used in flight
plans is A748.
Variants
- 748 Series 1 -
- 748 Series 2 - The Series 2 entered production
in 1961 with a higher take-off weight, and were 198 were built,
making it one of the most popular post-war British designs.
- 748 Series 2a - The more powerful Series 2A
followed with another 71 built.
- 748 Series 2b - The main production model
after Hawker-Siddeley was absorbed by British Aerospace, 25
built.
- Super 748 - Fitted with hush kits on the
Rolls-Royce Dart engines
- Hawker
Siddeley HS780 Andover - Fitted with kneeling
undercarriage, raised tail unit and rear loading ramp
- Coastguarder - A maritime patrol version.
- 748 Andover - Military passenger transport
versions of the 748.
- HAL 748 - Liscence production by Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited at Bangalore India. Indian aircraft were later
modified for a variety of roles including a trials aircraft for an
Airborne Early Warning
version fitted with a large radome, known as
the Airborne Surveillance
Platform (ASP). A total of 89 HAL 748's were built.
- HAL 748 Series 2M - Production for the Indian
Air Force (the last 20 built) were Series 2M aircraft with a Large
Freight Door.
Accidents and incidents
There have been 19 notable accidents involving the 748:
- 11 July 1965 - G-ARMV of Skyways Coach-Air crashed on landing
at Lympne Airfield, Kent. The nose wheel dug into the grass runway
and the aircraft overturned with the port wing being torn off.
- 22
August 1979 - An aircraft mechanic
(a former non-commissioned
officer of the Colombian Air
Force) stole a military HS 748 (FAC-1101) from a military hangar at the Eldorado
International Airport
in Bogota
, Colombia
.
According to the news, this person stole the plane with the
intention of crashing it against his parents house in order to kill
them. After some minutes in the air, the plane ran out of fuel and
crashed, killing the improvised pilot and three more people on the
ground.
- 11 October 1983 - Air Illinois crashed after electrical power
failure, all six on board died.
- 27
June 1987 - Philippine Airlines Flight 206
crashed onto a mountain after poor visibility
hampered the pilot's attempt to land at Loakan Airport
in Baguio
City
, Philippines
. All 50 passengers and crew died in the
crash.
- 10 November 1993 - Air Manitoba Flight NAM 205/206 crashed just
after takeoff killing all seven onboard. The accident was
attributed to a "Loss of situational awareness during night
takeoff" by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in its 58
page report No. A93H0023
- *28 April 1995 - A Sri Lanka Air
Force HS 748
was hit with an SA-7 while on approach to
Palaly/KKS/Jaffna. The transport
crashed outside the base perimeter, killing 43, mostly SLAF
personnel. Only few hours later, another HS 748 was hit by an SA-7
only a few kilometres before landing in Palaly. This time 52
crewmembers and passengers were killed, again most of these SLAF
personnel.
- 1 June
2002 - Former South African cricket
captain Hansie Cronje's scheduled
flight home from Bloemfontein
to George
had been grounded, so he hitched a ride as the only
passenger on a cargo flight in an HS 748. Near George
airport, the pilots lost visibility in cloud, and were unable to
land, partly due to unserviceable navigational equipment.
While
circling, the plane crashed into the Outeniqua
mountains northeast of the airport. Cronje,
aged 32, and the two pilots were killed instantly. An inquest by
South Africa's High Court reached the conclusion that "the death of
the deceased Wessel Johannes (Hansie) Cronje was brought about by
an act or omission prima facie amounting
to an offence on the part of pilots." However, with Cronje's
involvement in match-fixing, theories that Cronje was murdered on
the orders of a cricket betting syndicate have flourished since his
death.
Operators
Civil operators
In August 2007 a total of 59 Avro 748 aircraft (all variants)
remain in airline service. Current operators are:
- :
- :
- :
Military operators
Specifications (Super 748)
See also
References
External links
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