Question about 'made for TV crash' program 727 UPDATE

[The Inspector]

This Saturday Oct 7 DISCOVERY Channel is doing a program about what happens during an airliner crash using a 727-200. Question is, does anyone know the N#/msn/original operator of this bird? Since I worked on a bunch of them in the factory and afterwards @ BADWRENCH it would be interesting to know.

Pretty tough old girl isn't it? I guess the leadup was to over explain basic airliner to Mr. & Mrs. Average on the couch, but I'd have liked to see a bit more of the airframe post impact, I see all but slats #1 &2 got hammered and the gear tore the entire inboard flap assemblies off as I sort of expected given trunnion and sta. 870 walking beam design, I was surprised to see the forward fuselage fail and tear away so cleanly @ about sta 500 in the middle of the 43 section barrel and not @ the sta 360 join ring

Last edited by The Inspector on Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Cherrybomber13]

well Bob Dole used it on the campaign trail a number of years ago. Im sure some research could pull the N number that way from a press photo.

[CAPFlyer]

The aircraft in question was 727-212 c/n 21348, last registered as N293AS, ex-Champion Airlines, ex-Alaska Airlines.

[The Inspector]

Thanks much!! Apparently original operator was SINGAPORE AIRLINES as it's original registration # was 9V-SGB, I know I laid hands on it while @ BADWRENCH as we did steady trade with ALASKA. CHAMPION was a division of NORTHWEST and several of their 727's were converted on a seasonal basis into semi executive configuration and leased as 'team planes' to various NBA teams. We kept the interiors and did the swapouts in both directions @ KPAE.
It's going to be hard for me to watch this old acquaintance die, but at least she went with a bang and as a teaching moment and not bit by bit to the beer can factory.

[CAPFlyer]

As time has gone on (small scale here) I've started wishing I'd kept a log of all the airplanes I fueled for charter companies and such (not as interested in the mainliners because they're a dime-a-dozen) to look back at them and see what's happened to the more interesting ones I fueled. I have photos of a few of the planes (one of ATI's DC-8-62F's, several of the An-124s, an Algerian IL-76, some of DHL's wingleted 727-100's, a Zantop L188F, etc), but there are planes I fueled that I didn't get photos of that I wish I had the registrations on because they were interesting planes and it'd be neat to try and meet up with some of them again and see what they look like now.

[Wildchild]

well Bob Dole used it on the campaign trail a number of years ago. Im sure some research could pull the N number that way from a press photo.

So it deserves to get blown up?

]

[The Inspector]

well Bob Dole used it on the campaign trail a number of years ago. Im sure some research could pull the N number that way from a press photo.

So it deserves to get blown up?

]

No, and no one said anything about or like that, but having back links helps track down the history of an airframe, like I'm curious about the N # on the Romney MD-80 to see who it's original operator might have been and how many other opertators it may have been with. N#'s and msn's let me and others check online links to track down a particular airframe.

A good example? In this mornings birdcage liner in 'Today in History' noted that on Oct 4, 1960 an EASTERN L-188A crashed fatally on takeoff from Boston Logan, in less than three minutes I knew it was N 5533, msn 1062 and it's EAL fleet # was 533 by checking my on line resources.

[K5DH]

The aircraft in question was 727-212 c/n 21348, last registered as N293AS, ex-Champion Airlines, ex-Alaska Airlines.

Here's what N293AS looked like on September 23, 2001:
(about to transport Cindy and me from MBJ to DFW)