The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as a refinement of and successor
to the highly successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version
of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were built by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 60
has also been used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force and now they are in service with
the Peruvian Naval Aviation.
Development Fokker 50
The Fokker 50 was designed after sales of the Fokker F27 Friendship, which had been
in continual production since 1958, were beginning to decline by the 1980s. Design of the Fokker
50 started in 1983, with DLT and Ansett Airlines of Australia being launch customers.
Fokker built two prototypes derived from F27 airframes, the first of which flew for the
first time on 28 December 1985. Certification of the Fokker 50 by the Dutch aviation authority
RLD was successfully completed in 1987 and the first production aircraft was delivered
to DLT of Germany. Production ended in 1996 after the Fokker Aircraft Company went into
liquidation, with the last aircraft delivered the following year. By the end of the program,
213 Fokker 50s had been produced. As of August 2006 a total of 171 Fokker 50 aircraft remained
in airline service. Major operators included: Avianca, Denim Air, Skyways Express and VLM
Airlines. Some 27 other airlines including Air Astana also operate smaller numbers of
the type. Fokker 60
The Fokker 60 is stretched 1.62 m longer than the F50 for a total length of 26.87 m.
It has a large cargo door on the right side immediately behind the cockpit. Only four
examples were built, all of them delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. All of
them were part of 334 Squadron based at Eindhoven Airport. They were used to transport equipment
and soldiers. Paradrops were done as well. Another 60 were under construction but never
completed, due to Fokker's bankruptcy. Two of the Fokker 60s were converted in 2005 to
Maritime Patrol aircraft as a temporary solution when the Royal Netherlands Navy P-3 Orions
were phased out due to budget cuts. They were stationed at Hato AB Curaçao, until they
were replaced by civil DHC-8 aircraft in October 2007. When the Royal Netherlands Air Force
decided to buy two extra Lockheed C-130s, the Fokker 60s were phased out. The four Fokker
60 that were stored at Woensdrecht Air Base were sold to the Peruvian Naval Aviation,
the first two planes were delivered on 8 June 2010 and the second batch of two planes are
delivered at the end of 2010. Since March 2013, two Fokker 60s are based
at EHLE Lelystad airport in their Royal Dutch Airforce livery.
Design The Fokker 50 was based on the stretched F27-500
airframe, but with a larger number of smaller windows in the fuselage and a two-wheel nose
gear. Basic construction of the fuselage, wings
and empennage remained unchanged apart from strengthening the various sections where required.
The wing was equipped with upturned ailerons and wingtips, effectively acting as wing endplates
or winglets. The major design change from the Fokker F27
was in the engines, and in equipping the aircraft with an electronic flight and engine-management
system. The original Rolls-Royce Darts in various marks of basically 1,268-1715 kW
were replaced with two more fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada PW124 powerplants of
1,864 kW each, driving six-bladed Dowty Rotol propellers.
The Fokker 50 can carry up to 62 passengers over a range of 1,080 nm at a typical speed
of 286 knots, a 27 knots increase over the Fokker F27.
Variants
Fokker 50 F27 Mark 050
Marketed as the Fokker 50, based on the F27 Mark 500 with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B
or PW127B turboprop engines with six-bladed propellers, updated systems and cockpit instrumentation,
increased use of composite structure, double the number of windows, change from pneumatic
to hydraulic systems and addition of electronic engine and propeller controls and an electronic
flight instrument system and integrated warning system.
F27 Mark 0502 Marketed as the Fokker 50, same as the 050
with reconfigured interior layout and change in type of aft emergency exits, six built.
Fokker 60 F27 Mark 0604
Marketed as the Fokker 60, same as the 0502 with an increased fuselage length, increased
design weight and introduction of a large cargo door in the forward right side of the
fuselage. Two Pratt & Whitney PW127B turboprop engines, four built.
Operators As of October 2012 124 aircraft were still
in operational use with airlines. Fokker 50 civil operators
Aero Condor Aero Mongolia
Air Iceland Air Panama
Alliance Airlines Amapola Flyg
Aria Air Avior
Bluebird Aviation CityJet
Compagnie Africaine D'Aviation(1 lost due to crash on 4 March 2013)
Denim Air Feeder Airlines
Indonesia Air Transport Insel Air
Iranian Air Transport Kish Air
Mid Airlines Minoan Air
Hunnu Air MiniLiner
Pacific Royale Airways Palestinian Airlines
Sky Aviation Sonair
Sudan Airways TransNusa Air Services {5)
Travel Air PNG Virgin Australia Regional Airlines
Fokker 50 military and government operators
The following governments or military operators currently fly the Fokker 50 in passenger or
cargo roles: Netherlands
Royal Netherlands Air Force. Republic of China
Republic of China Air Force - as VIP transport.
Singapore Republic of Singapore Air Force - as Utility
Transport Aircraft and Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Tanzania
Tanzania Government Flight Agency - as VIP transport
Thailand Royal Thai Police
Former operators
Angola TAAG Angola Airlines
Australia Airlines of New South Wales
Ansett Australia Flight West Airlines
Austria Austrian Airlines/Tyrolean Airways
Brazil Nordeste Linhas Aéreas Regionais
Rio Sul TAM Airlines
Colombia Avianca
SAM Colombia Estonia
Estonian Air Germany
Contact Air Lufthansa CityLine
OLT Express Germany India
Rajair Ireland
Aer lingus Kazakhstan
Air Astana Kenya
Kenya Airways Latvia
AirBaltic Luxembourg
Luxair Malaysia
Firefly FlyAsianXpress
Malaysia Airlines MASwings
Netherlands KLM Cityhopper
KLM uk Nigeria
Virgin Nigeria Airways Norway
Busy Bee Norwegian Air Shuttle
Scandinavian Airlines Philippines
Philippine Airlines Spain
Iberia/Air Nostrum Taiwan
Formosa Airlines/Mandarin Airlines United Kingdom
Air UK Fokker 60 Military Operators
Peru Peruvian Naval Aviation - two as Utility Transport
Aircraft and two as Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Former Operators
Netherlands Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Accidents and incidents On 15 September 1995, Malaysia Airlines Flight
2133, a Fokker 50 crashed during approach in Tawau, Sabah due to pilot error, killing
34 of 53 passengers and crew on board in the first hull loss of a Fokker 50.
On 9 June 2002, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 113, a Fokker 50 aircraft few minutes after
departure on a flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two passengers who managed to bring a model
explosive and two small knives on board attempted to hijack the aircraft. Both perpetrators
were shot by in-flight security personnel. During the incident, one cabin crew member
was injured. The aircraft and all passengers onboard arrived at the intended destination
safely. On 6 November 2002, Luxair Flight 9642, a
Fokker 50 aircraft en route to Luxembourg – Findel Airport crashed and burned on final
approach to the airport about six nautical miles short of the runway while trying to
land in the fog. 20 out of 22 passengers and crew perished.
On 10 February 2004, Kish Air Flight 7170, a Fokker 50 crashed on approach to Sharjah
International Airport, United Arab Emirates after both propellers reversed while causing
a loss of control. All six crew and 37 of the 40 passengers on board were killed.
On 14 February 2006, an SAS Commuter Fokker 50 named "Inge Viking" sustained substantial
damage when the main landing gear collapsed when the airplane was parked at the gate at
Oslo-Gardermoen Airport, Norway. The aircraft was to carry out early morning flight SK2301
to Kristiansund, but the passengers had not boarded the flight yet.
On 15 November 2012, a Skyward International Aviation Fokker 50 registration 5Y-CAN crashed
on approach to Aweil, South Sudan after its landing gear collapsed and the aircraft left
the runway immediately after landing. One passenger received minor injuries and the
other 56 on board escaped unhurt. The aircraft was substantially damaged.
On 3 March 2013, a Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 registration 9Q-CBD crashed in poor
weather while on approach to Goma International Airport in Goma, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, killing all seven crew including Russian citizen, Alexander Bazhenov. There were three
survivors. On 2 July 2014, a Skyward International Aviation
Fokker 50 registration 5Y-CET operating a cargo flight ferrying Khat and bound for Mogadishu,
Somalia crashed into Embakasi surburbs after taking-off from Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. All four crew members died and the hull disintegrated and burnt
partially on impact with a highrise structure. Specifications
Data from airlines.net General characteristics
Crew: 2 Capacity: up to 58 passengers
Length: 25.25 m
Fokker 60: 26.87 m
Wingspan: 29 m Height: 8.32 m
Wing area: 70 m2 Empty weight: 12,250 kg
zero fuel weight: 18,600 kg Gross weight: 18,597 kg
Max takeoff weight: 20,820 kg
Fokker 60: 22,950 kg
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PW125B turboprop engines, 1,864 kW each
Fokker 60: 2x 1,953 kW Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127B turboprop engines
Propellers: six-bladed Dowty Rotol composite propellers
Performance Maximum speed: 560 km/h
Cruising speed: 530 km/h
Fokker 60: 469 km/h
Range: 2,055 km Service ceiling: 7,620 m
Armament two × AGM-84D Harpoon missiles and radar,
sonar systems See also
Related development Fokker F27
Fairchild Hiller FH-227 Aircraft of comparable role, configuration
and era Antonov An-140
ATR 42 and 72 CASA CN-235 and EADS CASA C-295
de Havilland Canada Dash 8 Series 300 Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
Fairchild-Dornier 328 family Ilyushin Il-114
Saab 2000 and 340 Xian MA60/Xian Y-7/Antonov An-24
References
European Aviation Safety Agency Type-Certificate Data Sheet - Fokker F27
Star Africa http:www.starafrica.comnewsview/sudan-airways-plane-crash-lands-after-wh-193541.html The Aviation Herald http:www.avherald.com/h?article=443db552&opt=0
External links Fokker Services
Fokker 50 Official Page Fokker 50 Systems