Fokkernews January 2024 (issue 73)

General news

Karun Airlines is offering five F50s for sale. Two of these are still airworthy as of May 2023.

The Fly AllWays Fokker fleet is currently grounded, awaiting ADS-B transponders to be installed.

Fokker F27, Fokker 50 & Fokker 60

c/n type registration new registration comment
10620 200 10620 Philippine Air Force. Seen flying at Cebu on 4 January 2024, still alive and kicking more than 42 years after its first flight.
10625 500F PK-MFV Merpati. Seen 10 December 2023 at Surabaya-Juanda airport platform, all white without titles or registration, otherwise looking intact. The photographer claims it to be PK-MFK, but from comparison with other pictures we believe PK-MFV is more likely, also because this F27 is intended for the Air Force museum next door.
10668 400M N27FF VNCE (Flying Dutch Cultural Heritage Foundation) volunteers are working hard to complete the C-check in Summer 2024, aiming at the first test flight from Lelystad before year end 2024. This Friendship is the former US Army Golden Knights parachute dropper.
20105 50 SE-MFP Amapola Flyg. Ferried from Malmö to Lelystad 18 January 2024 as APF9705 for repaint and left the paintshop six days later in the new PopulAir livery.
20135 50 HP-1921PST Air Panama. This F50 was seen 11 January 2024 at Panama City Marcos Gelabert airport, fully intact in Air Panama livery. It is offered for sale.
20144 50 HP-1922 Air Panama. Seen at Panama City Marcos Gelabert airport 11 January, without engines in basic Cityjet colors.
20162 50 HP-1793PST Air Panama. Seen active 11 January 2024 at Panama City and Chitré airports.
20163 50 HP-1794PST Air Panama. Seen active 11 January 2024 at Panama City Marcos Gelabert airport.
20191 50F 5Y-JWG Jetways. On 18 January 2024 the freighter could not properly land due to gear issues and crashed into a house near the Ceelbarde dirt strip in Somalia. One of the crew died, one other was injured; the aircraft is definitely a write-off.
20226 50 SE-LTR Amapola Flyg. Ferried from Stockholm-Arlanda to Lelystad 24 January 2024 as APF9705 for repaint.
20306 50 VH-FKV ? Air Panama. Noted 11 January 2024 at Panama City, still in basic Alliance livery and with Australian registration. This creates a puzzle because VH-FKV (20303) became HP-1899PST in November 2022 and entered service late March 2023, whereas VH-FKW (20306) has not a Panamanian registration as yet.

Fokker F28, Fokker 70 & Fokker 100

c/n type registration new registration comment
11307 100 5Y-SIA Salaam Air Express. The aircraft is still stored at Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta airport without engines and cannibalized. It is likely not to fly in the future.
11315 100 HP-1763PST Air Panama. Seen Panama City Marcos Gelabert airport 11 January 2024, broken up.
11334 100 VH-FNC Virgin Australia. Despite it was slated for retirement in early December 2023, the F100 has been flying almost every day during the months December and January. So, plans have apparently changed.
11416 100 5Y-SKE Premier Airlines. Seen in service at Nairobi January 2024.
11481 100 VH-NHC Network Aviation (Qantas Link). Flew from Perth via Broome to Singapore-Seletar 29 September 2023 for a C-check. However, a decision was made to part it out instead. The registration was cancelled 3 January 2024 as scrapped.
11490 100 VH-NHA Network Aviation (Qantas Link). Returned from Singapore-Seletar via Broome to Perth on 3 January 2024 as NWK6067/6223 after overhaul and back in service 5 January 2024 with a return flight to Paraburdoo.
11493 100 PH-ABW Air Hollandia (ntu). Cockpit section was transported to a private garden in Belgium.
11505 100 VH-NQZ Network Aviation (Qantas Link). Adding to the photo legend in Fokkernews 72, this F100 has never flown since it returned from Seletar on 24 December 2021. It is used as a spares source.
11506 100 VH-NHQ Network Aviation (Qantas Link). On 31 October 2023 flight NWK1620 from Perth to Paraburdoo returned to Perth after take-off as the undercarriage doors would not close following gear retraction. The F100 landed safely with a few sparks, emergency services were present but did not come into action. Perth airport was closed for over one hour due to the incident.
11536 70 5Y-SKX Skyward Express. Parked at Nairobi-Wilson January 2024; it has not flown since it was delivered to Kenya last September.
11578 70 PZ-TFC Fly AllWays. After almost three months of inactivity, this F70 made two local test flights at Paramaribo on 28 December 2023.
11582 70 PJ-JAC Jetair Caribbean. Noticed 1 January 2024 at Curaçao, looking externally intact, but completely empty.

Last picture of Amapola Flyg Fokker 50 SE-MFP (20105) in its current colors, while it is towed into the paintshop for getting the new PopulAir livery. (Richard Poeser on Flickr; Lelystad, 18 January 2024)

 

The only Fokker operator in Central America is Air Panama, with five F50s still active. One of these, HP-1793PST (20162), was photographed at Chitré, Panama, a rarely visited airport. (André Alders; Chitré, 11 January 2024)

 

Jetways F50F 5Y-JWG (20191) suffered a mishap when landing at Ceelbarde dirt airstrip, Somalia, after a flight from Mogadishu with humanitarian relief goods of the United Nations World Food Program. The aircraft was reportedly making a go-around due to a gear issue and crashed into a house outside the airstrip. Sadly, the captain perished, the first officer was seriously injured and two WFP officials were unhurt. The house, empty at the time, collapsed. (unknown photographer on BAAA-ACRO; Ceelbarde, 18 January 2024)

 

Interior view of former Mexicana Click F100 XA-MRB (11285), which is now home to the Fly Bunny restaurant. It is located in a shopping center in Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico (Google Earth 19.6718, -99.2068). (Neil Skates on Flickr; Cuautitlán Izcalli, 30 December 2023)

 

After Air Hollandia did not take up F100 PH-ABW (11493) the airframe was broken up and the cockpit section moved to a private garden in the Oost-Vlaanderen province of Belgium. (Re-plane on Facebook; unknown location, 21 December 2023)

 

PJ-JAB (11585) is the only active F70 of Jetair Caribbean. It requires a C-check by Summer 2024, so the airline needs a replacement aircraft before that time, as sistership PJ-JAC is permanently withdrawn from service. (André Alders; Curaçao, 1 January 2024)

Credits

All photographers named above, André Alders, Aviation Herald, Aviation Safety network, BAAA-ACRO, Arnold Begeman, David Booster, Merv Crowe, Frank Ellemers, Flickr, FlightAware, Jan Homma, Greg Hyde, Skyliner, Up in the Sky, Henk Wadman.