A British Airways VC.14 lands at London Heathrow Airport.
The Vickers VC.14 is a mid-to-long range twin-engine wide-body airliner built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. The VC.14 has a glass cockpit designed for a two-man flight crew, is powered by two Rolls Royce RB.211 turbofan engines, seats 210-295 passengers, has a supercritical wing design for decreased aerodynamic drag, and has a range of 3,900 to 5,625 nautical miles, depending on variant.
Development of of the VC.14 began in the late 1970s in response to the Airbus A300. The VC.14-200 prototype made its first flight on July 30, 1981 and entered service on July 19, 1982 with Air New Zealand.
In 1985, the VC.14 became the first twin-engined airliner to receive regulatory approval for extended overseas flights. The aircraft was then used to expand non-stop service on medium- to long-haul intercontinental routes. In the 1990s, the VC.14 became the most frequently used airliner for transatlantic flights between North America and Europe.
The VC.14 is the first twinjet wide-body type to reach 1,000 aircraft delivered. As of May 2017, Vickers-Armstrongs has received 1,204 orders for the VC.14 from 74 customers; 1,099 have been delivered. Competitors have included the Airbus A300, A310, and A330-200, while a successor, the VC.16, entered service in October 2011. Despite this, the VC.14 still remains in production.
Variants[]
- Vickers VC-14-200:
- Vickers VC-14-200ER:
- Vickers VC-14-200ER/SF:
- Vickers VC-14-300:
- Vickers VC-14-300ER:
- Vickers VC-14-300F:
- Vickers VC-14-300ERF:
- Vickers VC-14-300SF:
- Vickers VC-14-300ER/SF:
- Vickers VC-14-400ER:
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager C.1: Transport variant proposed not built
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager KC.2: Tanker-Transport variant designed to replace Vickers VC-10-1107 K.1 and Vickers VC-10-1112 K.2
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager KC.3: Tanker-Transport variant designed to replace Vickers VC-10-1164 K.3, Vickers VC-10-1166 K.3A and Vickers VC-10-1170 K.4
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager AEW.4: Airborne Early Warning variant designed to replace De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.3
- Vickers VC-14 Airseeker R.5: Signals Intelligence variant based on the Vickers VC-14-400ER designed to replace De-Havilland Nimrod R.1
Operators[]
Australia
British Empire
- Royal Air Force - 104 (KC.2/KC.3)
Canada
- Republic of China
- Israel
- Italy
- West Japan
- Poland
- Qatar
Accidents and Incidents[]
The airliner's first incident was TransAir Canada Flight 143, a Vickers VC-14-200, on July 23, 1983.
The airplane ran out of fuel at an altitude of about 41,000 feet.
Eventually, the pilots had to glide with both engines out for almost 43 nautical miles (80 km; 49 mi) to an emergency landing at Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.
The pilots used the aircraft's ram air turbine to power the hydraulic systems for aerodynamic control.
There were no fatalities and only minor injuries.
This aircraft was nicknamed Gimli Glider after its landing site. The aircraft, registered as C-GAUN, continued flying for Air Canada until its retirement in January 2008.
The airliner's first fatal crash, occurred near Bangkok on May 26, 1991 when Lauda Air Flight 004 flying from British Hong Kong to Vienna, Austria via Bangkok, Thailand crashed into the Phu Toei National Park, following the in-flight deployment of the left engine thrust reverser on a Vickers VC-14-300ER leading to an inflight breakup, none of the 223 onboard survived.
As a result of this accident, all Vickers VC-14 thrust reversers were deactivated until a redesign was implemented.
Investigators determined that an electronically controlled valve, common to late-model Boeing aircraft, was to blame.
A new locking device was installed on all affected jetliners, including Vickers VC-14.
On November 23, 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, a Vickers VC-14-200ER, was hijacked and crash-landed in the Indian Ocean near the Comoro Islands after running out of fuel, killing 125 out of the 175 persons on board; this was a rare example of occupants surviving a land-based aircraft ditching on water.
On October 31, 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, a Vickers VC-14-300ER flying from Los Angeles, Union of Pacifica in the UPAR to Cairo, Egypt via New York City, People's Republic of New England crashed off Nantucket, People's Republic of New England, in international waters killing all 217 people on board.
The UAPR's National Transportation Aviation Committee concluded "not determined", but determined the probable cause to be a deliberate action by the first officer; the Egyptian government disputed this conclusion.
On April 15, 2002, Air China Flight 129, a Vickers VC-14-200ER, crashed into a hill amid inclement weather while trying to land at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, Korea.
The crash resulted in the death of 129 of the 166 people on board, and the cause was attributed to pilot error.
This was the deadliest plane crash in Korea at the time.
On November 1, 2011, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 16, a Vickers VC-14-300ER, safely landed at Warsaw Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, after a mechanical failure of the landing gear forced an emergency landing with the landing gear retracted.
There were no injuries, but the aircraft involved was damaged and written off.
At the time aviation analysts speculated that it may have been the first instance of a complete landing gear failure in the 767's service history.
Subsequent investigation determined that while a damaged hose had disabled the aircraft's primary landing gear extension system, an otherwise functional backup system was inoperative due to an accidentally deactivated circuit breaker.
On October 29, 2015, Dynamic Airways Flight 405, a Vickers VC-14-200ER caught fire while taxiing to the runway at Hollywood International Airport. There were no fatalities, but 22 people were injured, 1 of them seriously. The aircraft was written off.
On February 23, 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Vickers VC-14-300ERF freighter operating for Amazon Air, crashed into Trinity Bay near Houston, Texas, while on descent into George Bush Intercontinental Airport; both pilots and the single passenger were killed.
The cause was attributed to pilot error and spatial disorientation.