The British Aerospace ATP (Advanced Turbo-Prop) is an
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
designed and produced by
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
. It was an evolution of the
Hawker Siddeley HS 748, a fairly successful feederliner of the 1960s.
The ATP was developed during the 1980s, events such as such as the
1979 oil crisis
The 1979 oil crisis, also known as the 1979 Oil Shock or Second Oil Crisis, was an energy crisis caused by a drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four per ...
and increasing public concern regarding
aircraft noise
Aircraft noise pollution refers to noise produced by aircraft in flight that has been associated with several negative stress-mediated health effects, from sleep disorders to cardiovascular ones. Governments have enacted extensive controls that a ...
led to business planners at British Aerospace to believe that there was a market for a short-range, low-noise, fuel-efficient turboprop aircraft. First flown on 6 August 1986, by the time it became commercially available, the market segment it fell within was already hotly contested by multiple other airliners, such as the
de Havilland Canada Dash 8
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then ...
,
ATR 42
The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France.
On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) a ...
, and
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture forme ...
. Amid this intense competition, sales of the ATP were limited, leading British Aerospace to terminate production after only eight years, during which a total of 65 aircraft were completed.
Design and development
Background
The origins of the ATP can be traced back to, in part, the
1979 oil crisis
The 1979 oil crisis, also known as the 1979 Oil Shock or Second Oil Crisis, was an energy crisis caused by a drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four per ...
, which had caused dramatic rises in fuel prices; there was considerable attention paid to the possibility of another such event, thus operators came to place greater value on the fuel efficiency of their aircraft.
Another factor that had gained prominence around this time was
noise pollution
Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mai ...
. Recognising these trends,
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
decided that it would assign a design team to produce an
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
, suitable for short- to medium-haul operations, that would be both more fuel efficient and quieter than the prior generations of aircraft.
It was quickly decided that a development of the existing
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 airliner would be the preferred option. The airframe was redesigned with a lengthened
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
and a larger wing span.
the airliner was originally designed to accommodate 64 passengers, although the actual capacity could change considerably dependent on customer configuration, and was sized to slot between the original HS 748's capacity of 50 seats and the jet-powered
British Aerospace 146
The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro Internati ...
's capacity of 100 seats.
The aircraft was also designed to be compliant with the latest regulations pertaining to air travel in both
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.
The cockpit was also redesigned to ease pilot workload using measures such as colour-coded instrumentation and a centralised fault warning panel.
Equipped with digital avionics and multifunction displays, it was considered to be a
glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mec ...
. Various other minor modifications were performed across the airframe, such as the reshaping of areas such as the more pointed nose, the tail unit's swept fin and
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw a ...
, and revised wingtips.
[Warner 2005, p. 62.] Furthermore, the windows were reduced in size and had a shorter pitch than those of the HS 748. There was a 30% commonality between the two aircraft.
The propulsion was significantly revised from that of the HS 748; the twin
Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
engines of its predecessor were substituted for
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW126 engines, a more modern counterpart. Each engine drove a custom-designed six-blade propeller jointly developed by British Aerospace and the American specialist
Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard was an American aircraft propeller parts supplier. It was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller ...
.
These large diameter propellers were designed to turn slower than traditional equivalents to generate less noise; their distance from the fuselage meant that passengers were subject to noise levels comparable to contemporary jetliners.
The airliner was also relatively lightweight, weighing only 468 pounds per seat, which was reportedly less than any other
regional airliner
A regional airliner or a feederliner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the reg ...
in its size category in the mid 1980s.
Partially as a result of these refinements, the aircraft's cruise speed was increased considerably over that of its predecessor.
The project's existence was revealed to the public in early 1984.
Into flight
On 6 August 1986, the prototype ATP performed its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
from
Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those ...
, flown by test pilot Robby Robinson.
This initial flight, which lasted several hours, was relatively non-notable, except for adverse weather conditions being present for the type's first landing. At the time of this first flight, the company expected the ATP to enter revenue service during 1987.
Between 1987 and 2002, BAe reportedly held ambitions to sell around 300 ATPs.
It proved to be far more economic than preceding aircraft used for the role, such as the
BAC 1-11 and the
Douglas DC9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
jetliners.
However, throughout the ATP's production run, the regional airline market was hotly contested by numerous companies, including the Dutch aircraft company
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 191 ...
, Canadian transport manufacturer
Bombardier, and the European specialist
ATR. This led to BAe investigating potential partnerships amongst its competitors, ultimately resulting in the short-lived merger of its regional airliner manufacturing division with
ATR under the name
Aero International (Regional)
Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane).
Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to:
Aeronautics Airlines and companies
* Aero (P ...
on 26 January 1995.
Assembly of the type was largely undertaken at BAe's Woodford and Prestwick facilities, while the manufacture of both the airframe and wings was performed at the Chadderton plant. During mid 1997, BAe announced that production of the ATP was permanently terminated; work at the Prestwick was promptly shifted to the aerostructures sector. By this point, a total of 65 aircraft had been completed.
During July 2000, a project was announced that resulted in the conversion of existing aircraft into the ''ATP Freighter'' (ATPF) configuration, which was promoted to cargo operators. Outfitted with a modified freight door derived from that of the HS 748, the ATPF can carry 30% more cargo than its predecessor with a 10% increase in running costs. Under this programme, an initial batch of six ATPs were converted into freighter on behalf of the cargo airline
West Air Sweden
West Air Sweden, operating as West Atlantic, is a cargo airline based in Malmö, Sweden. It operates scheduled and ad hoc freight charter services for FedEx, DHL and UPS. It is also contracted to operate mail flights for different postal servic ...
.
Operational history
During 1988, the ATP entered commercial service with the regional airline
British Midland. Numerous British airliners were quick to adopt and operate the type, including
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
,
Loganair, and
British Regional Airlines
British Regional Airlines was a franchise partner of British Airways based in Manchester. They operated a large network of domestic and European services from many UK regional airports.
British Regional Airlines held a United Kingdom Civil Avi ...
.
[Warner 2005, pp. 62-63.] During the 1990s, various
charter operators also adopted small fleets of ATPs. The
air ferry company
British World Airlines also opted to acquire several ATPs in a quick change configuration.
During the late 1990s, the Scandinavian airline
Sun-Air initiated a long-term plan to introduce
jet-powered airliners into its fleet by 2000; as a step towards this, and to help handle increasing passenger traffic on its routes between Denmark and Britain, the company acquired a pair of second-hand ATPs during late 1997; further aircraft would follow. Around the same timeframe, the Spanish operator
Air Europa Express became a sizable user of the type; in August 1998, it announced its intention to double its ATP fleet from six to 12 aircraft.
Early sales efforts had been particularly focused on the
North American market, BAE reportedly held negotiations with numerous carriers across the continent; the first success was an order for five ATPs from the Canadian carrier
Avline.
In September 1987, the American operator
Wings West Airlines announced that it had picked the ATP as the winner of an international competition; the initial order for 10 airliners represented the ATP's breakthrough into the lucrative US market. Carl Albert, President and Chief Executive of Wings West, stated that the ATP was superior to its closest competitors, such as the
De Havilland Canada Dash 8
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then ...
and the
Fokker 50
The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch airc ...
, and claimed it offered the lowest seat-mile costs of any turboprop airliner.
In practice, the only U.S. operator of the ATP in scheduled passenger service was
Air Wisconsin, which flew as
United Express
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...
on behalf of
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. via a
code sharing
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
agreement.
During the mid-2000s, the ATP was being increasingly used to carry aerial freight with numerous operators. By December 2018, 20 aircraft reportedly remained in commercial service as cargo aircraft with
West Air Sweden
West Air Sweden, operating as West Atlantic, is a cargo airline based in Malmö, Sweden. It operates scheduled and ad hoc freight charter services for FedEx, DHL and UPS. It is also contracted to operate mail flights for different postal servic ...
(15),
Deraya (2) and
EnComm (3).
Variants
Several ATP variants were proposed and produced for civil and military use:
;Jetstream 61
The British Aerospace Jetstream 61 was an improved derivative of the ATP. It featured an interior based on the Jetstream 41, with innovative cabin wall armrests and an increase in capacity from 64 to 70 seats. In addition, the airframe incorporated more powerful PW127 engines and increased weights and range.
For Farnborough, the original prototype ATP (serial number 2001) was re-painted in a J61 scheme and re-registered G-PLXI (LXI being the Roman numeral for 61. The first flight of a proper J61 aircraft was by 2064 G-JLXI on 10 May 1994 from Prestwick. Four airframes were produced as Jetstream 61s, 2065 being the only other to have flown before British Aerospace's regional airliner manufacturing operations were merged with
ATR as
Aero International (Regional)
Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane).
Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to:
Aeronautics Airlines and companies
* Aero (P ...
on 26 January 1995. With the already highly successful
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture forme ...
now part of the same product range, the Jetstream 61 was immediately cancelled with all four airframes being scrapped at Prestwick.
;Maritime ATP
This was a variant for use in military naval operations, with a surveillance radar under the forward fuselage, nose-mounted
FLIR
Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.
The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...
and internal sonar buoys. A suite of special crew stations also featured, as did a choice of up to six weapon pylons under the wings and fuselage. The Maritime ATP was later known as the BAe P.132. None were built.
;ATP-AEW
The AEW was a 1986 proposal for an Airborne Early Warning aircraft for Australia, with two EMI Skymaster radars in nose and tail radomes, similar in appearance to the Nimrod AEW.3. None were built.
Operators
Current operators
*
West Air Europe – Sweden – 4 ATP-Fs in cargo configuration in service as of October 2022.
[Thisdell and Seymour ''Flight International'' 30 July −5 August 2019, p. 35.]
Former operators
*
Air Europa Express (Spain, 1998–2001)
*
Airgo Airlines
Airgo Networks (formerly Woodside Networks), is a Palo Alto, California-based company specializing in the development of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless technology. Airgo Networks was founded in 2001 by Gregory Raleigh, V.K. Jo ...
(Greece, 2008–2010)
*
Air Wisconsin (operating as
United Express
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...
) (United States, 1990–1993)
*
Asian Spirit (Philippines, 2003–2008)
*
Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Biman Bangladesh Airlines ( bn, বিমান বাংলাদেশ এয়ারলাইন্স) commonly known as Biman ( bn, বিমান), pronounced (), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazr ...
*
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
*
British Midland
*
British World Airlines
*
Canarias Regional Air
*
Deraya Air Taxi
*
EuroAir
EuroAir was an airline based in Athens, Greece. It operated business charter flights using its own and wet leased aircraft. Its main base was Athens International Airport. EuroAir ceased operations when it had its AOC suspended on 16 March 2009.
...
*
Eurodirect
Eurodirect was a short lived British airline founded in 1994. It was based at Bournemouth Airport in England and flew short haul flights to British and European destinations. After financial problems, the airline ceased all operations on 26 Fe ...
*
First Flight Couriers
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
* World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
(India, 2006–2007)
*
Loganair
*
Manx Airlines
*
Merpati Nusantara Airlines
PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operating as Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled intern ...
*
NextJet
*
SATA Air Açores
*
Sun Air of Scandinavia
*
Air Europa
*
United Express
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...
** Operated by
Air Wisconsin
** Operated by
United Feeder Service (UFS)
*
West Atlantic – Cargo Airlines
Notable accidents and incidents
* On 19 April 1997,
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 106 lost control at 2,000 feet on approach to
Tanjung Pandan Airport in Indonesia. 15 people died and 43 survived, making it the second-worst accident involving an ATP. It was the first fatal incident involving the type within its first ten years of service.
* On 11 December 1999,
SATA Air Açores Flight 530
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...
crashed into a mountain on
São Jorge Island
São Jorge () is an island in the central group of the Azores archipelago and part of the autonomous region of Portugal. Separated from its nearest neighbours ( Pico and Faial islands) by the Pico-São Jorge Channel, the central group is oft ...
in the
Azores
)
, motto=
( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, Portugal during a short haul flight. All 35 passengers and crew on board died in the crash. The accident was the worst air accident involving the ATP. It was confirmed that the crew got disorientated in the midst of low clouds over São Jorge Island and made a
controlled flight into terrain
In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenari ...
.
Specifications
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{BAE aircraft
ATP
ATP may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body
* American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company
* ', a Danish pension
* Armenia Tree Project, non ...
1980s British airliners
Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1986
Low-wing aircraft