A historic milestone is set to be reached next week when a Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft is due to land at the new St Helena Airport to carry out a series of calibration flights. This will be the first aircraft to land on St Helena, the island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Air Support Safety International has carried out an assessment of the Airport infrastructure and safety procedures. As a result, an exemption was granted until September 30 2015 to enable the calibration flights to go ahead.
The aircraft is due to arrive between Sunday 13 and Thursday 17 September 2015, dependent upon suitable weather and other factors. The precise date and time of arrival is therefore still to be determined, but every effort will be made to inform the public as early as possible.
The calibration tests will be undertaken by Flight Calibration Services Limited (FCSL) who will travel to St Helena on the aircraft leased from TAB in South Africa.
The aircraft will fly from Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, to Namibia, then to Angola and on to St Helena, taking approximately four hours for the final leg of the journey to the Island.
The aircraft is set to remain on the Island for around a week, undertaking several flights each day (weather permitting).
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesThe British military should make great use of this new facility before someone [Cameron,
Sep 12th, 2015 - 11:47 am 0has other ideas.
@1. How? And why? Cameron was the one who finally decided to press ahead after Blair and then Brown delayed for years. The runway on St Helena is too short for long range British transport aircraft. The only two capable of reaching that far would be the Globemaster and the Voyager. Neither could take off again. And why bother when they can land at Ascension Island?
Sep 12th, 2015 - 12:42 pm 0WHAT A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY...
Sep 12th, 2015 - 06:50 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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