Fokkernews October 2023 (issue 70)

General news

Fokker Next Gen has decided to cooperate with Dassault Systèmes in the development of an hydrogen engine for the new generation Fokker 100 that is planned to make its maiden flight in 2027. 

JetAir Caribbean is going to replace their F70 fleet by ATR-42 aircraft. 

The planned takeover of Alliance Aviation by Qantas fell through as the Australian competition authorities withheld their approval. The two airlines will continue their current cooperation: Qantas retains its nearly 20% of Alliance shares and Alliance continues to operate up to 30 E190s for Qantas. 

The bankruptcy administrator for Montenegro Airlines has placed four F100s up for sale. Bids start from € 85,000 to € 116,000, depending on age and condition; they are not airworthy. The Fokkers are parked at Podgorica airport and will be sold individually.

Fokker F27, Fokker 50 & Fokker 60

c/n type registration new registration comment
10115 200VIP 59-0259 Philippine Air Force. Withdrawn from use after an incident at Bacolod on 1 December 2022. Recently put on display in Silay City.
10575 400M TC-79 Argentinian Air Force. The technical department at Parana Air Base has started the project of restoring this Troopship to flying condition, almost seven years after it was decommissioned. The Air Force wants to use the aircraft for transport and para dropping; the frame has many hours remaining for active service.
10653 200MAR NAF907 Nigerian Air Force. The F27 is now part of the aircraft collection at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Kaduna, Nigeria. It is not clear when it was brought there from its previous location in Benin City. It has apparently received a fresh paint in the original white and grey color scheme.
10664 500 VT-UPD UP Air. The aircraft serves as an instructional airframe at the Indian Aerospace and Engineering Institute and the Quetzal Airhostess and Hospitality Academy in Navi, Mumbai. Unknown is when it arrived there, but definitely before 2014. It has no engines and further looks pretty intact, also the cockpit and the cabin. The airframe is visible on Google Earth 19.0651, 73.0203.
20159 50 SE-MFZ Amapola Flyg. Flew Malmö to Lelystad 11 October for repaint in the PopulAir colors. It returned in the new livery on 24 October 2023.
20249 50 5Y-FAS Freedom Airlines Express. Seen at Mogadishu 10 April 2023, still with 'Operated by BlueSky Airlines' titles under the cockpit.
20313 50 5U-NAA Niger Airlines. Seen 29 June 2023 on the apron of Niamey airport. The aircraft is stored there since November 2022 when the airline's AOC was withdrawn.
524 227B EP-SNA Iran Aseman. The aircraft that was preserved in the Iranian Aerospace Exhibition Center in Tehran is no longer there.
558 227B TU-TDC Air Inter Ivoire. Fuselage is part of private collection of airliner wrecks at Songon-Dagbé, Ivory Coast.
575 227D TU-TDN Air Inter Ivoire. Fuselage is part of private collection of airliner wrecks at Songon-Dagbé, Ivory Coast.

Fokker F28, Fokker 70 & Fokker 100

c/n type registration new registration comment
11073 1000 3C-LLF Getra. Fuselage is part of a private collection of airliner wrecks at Songon-Dagbé, Ivory Coast.
11126 4000 3C-LGP General Work Aviation. Fuselage is part of a private collection of airliner wrecks at Songon-Dagbé, Ivory Coast.
11185 4000 XT-FZP Air Burkina. Fuselage is part of a private collection of airliner wrecks at Songon-Dagbé, Ivory Coast.
11446 100 VH-FGB Alliance Airlines. Coming from Brisbane, the aircraft descended below the lowest safe altitude on approach to Adelaide airport. The incident occurred on 30 August and is still under investigation.
11532 70 VH-NUU Alliance Airlines. On 7 April 2023 a trail of fluid was detected from the right-hand engine when the F70 was pushed back for a flight from Brisbane to Roma. Inspection revealed a leaking pair of seals and after repair the aircraft could depart after all. The Australian Transport Safety Board considered it extremely unlikely that a fire would develop from this leak due to the design of fuel lines and thus discontinued its investigation.
11561 70 5B-DDB 5Y-SKD Skyward Express. Noted at Woensdrecht 13 October 2023, all white with new Kenyan registration. This is the last former TUS Airways Fokker at Woensdrecht.

The oldest Friendship that was still active, Philippine Air Force VIP F27 59-0259 (10115) has now been officially retired after an incident. Social media suggest either a nose landing gear collapse after landing or an engine fire at aborted take-off on 1st December 2022 at Bacolod airport. Anyway, the Air Force donated the frame to the E. Lopez quarter in the city of Silay, just north of Bacolod airport on Cebu island. It will serve there as a static display, currently devoid of titles, serials and roundels. (Silay City Public Information Office on Facebook; Silay City, 22 September 2023)

 

One of the retired Ghana Air Force Troopships has found a place in the Rattray park in Kumasi, Ghana. G525 (10520) is there since at least 2020, initially in the well-known red-cheatline VIP scheme. In 2022 it was repainted in a fancy blue livery that had never been in use when Ghanese Fokkers were still in active service. The aircraft seems to be accessible to the public, but interior pictures could not be found. (Jeffery Agyekum Adjei on Google; Kumasi City, July 2022)

 

In Fokkernews 66 we reported on two Ethiopian-registered F50s seen in June 2023. Now we have photo evidence that East African Aviation ET-AYQ was already active in Mogadishu two months before, all white with red engine cowlings. Although the c/n is still unknown, similarity with pictures of ST-ASO in 2017, makes us believe that it is 20256, formerly ST-ASO with El Dinder Aviation. (Dutchbird757; Mogadishu, 10 April 2023)

 

Amapola Flyg continues to have their passenger F50s modified to the new PopulAir brand. The third one, SE-MFZ (20159) left the Satys paintshop in the new livery for the return flight to Malmö. (Hans Hoffmann; Lelystad, 24 October 2023)

 

On the banks of the Ébrié lagoon near Songon-Dagbé, some 30 km west of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, is a private aircraft cemetery with 11 airliner wrecks, among which a Douglas DC-10, three Boeing 737 and five Fokkers: three F28 Fellowships and two Fairchild FH-227s. For aircraft details see the tables. Most are fuselages without wings and they are in general in a poor state. The owner, Mr. Aziz Alibhaï, has plans to develop the area into a museum and tourist destination with one or more of the wrecks to be turned into a restaurant. His collection is visible on Google Earth (5.2991, -4.2355). (Yafohi Travel via Jacques Vooren; Songon-Dagbé, April 2022)

 

Since Bek Air was grounded in 2019, their Fokker fleet is stored at different airports. UP-1017 (11258) is at Shymkent airport and is clearly affected by the harsh weather. (Simon de Rudder; Shymkent, 19 September 2023)

 

Following up on the picture in Fokkernews 53 (May 2022)  we can show that the scrapping process of TUS Airways 5B-DDD ( 11417) has now practically been completed. (Dirk Grothe; Larnaca, 5 October 2023)

 

Last month Skyward Express Fokker 5Y-SKX (11536) was delivered to Kenya with an overnight stop in Crete. It was caught on camera while taxiing into the parking position. Unfortunately, the new fleet addition is (still?) all white. (Constantinos Zervos; Heraklion, 22 September 2023)

 

The newest F70 for Skyward Express will be 5Y-SKD (11561), the last ex-TUS Airways Fokker that was still in storage at Woensdrecht. Photographed with the new registration, but unfortunately all white, too. (Ralph Hamaker; Woensdrecht 16 October 2023)

 

Credits

All photographers named above, Air-Britain News, André Alders, Arnold Begeman, Aviation Safety Network, Aviator.aero, CH-Aviation, Frank Ellemers, Fuerzas de Defensa Argentinas, Jan Homma, Luchtvaartnieuws, Skyliner, Jacques Vooren, Henk Wadman, WoensdrechtAS forum, Frans Zwart