Posted on 10/20/2016 4:55:57 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Boeing’s killed a lot more folks in commercial airlines than Lockheed has. L-1011 had 3 fatal crashes (plus an ejection event).
Domestic:
1) December,1972 - Eastern Airlines pilot error (flew into the swamp)
2) August, 1985 - Delta Airlines (pilot tried to land in adverse weather conditions. Led to deployment of Doppler weather radar at airports)
Saudi:
3) August, 1980 - fire in cargo area (may have been terrorism although no one claimed responsibility). Insulation in the cargo area was removed from other planes.
4) December, 1980 - Landing gear mishap caused a hull rupture - 2 passengers fell out.
Other:
5) May, 1986 - Terrorist bombing at Columbo, Sri Lanka killed 20 passengers. (Bomb was positioned near location of the first Saudi event, but went off before the plane was in the air).
Compares favorably to other airplanes - only two passengers killed by faulty equipment, and that was probably related to maintenance issues.
I don’t disagree it compares favorably to other airplanes.....however the events you detail are what drove Lockheed out of the commercial airline business, never to return.
No, Rolls Royce’s problems drove Lockheed out of the commercial airline business (coupled with the foulups on the C-5 program).
The problems really started with the Electra - initially a badly flawed plane. By the time Lockheed got that sorted out, they’d missed the first generation of jets, losing the commercial market to Boeing, Douglas, and Convair. They then missed out on the second generation to Boeing and Douglas. They tried to jump back in with a single model large plane, but made the fatal mistake of choosing Rolls Royce for the engines. Douglas eventually sold about 640 of the competing 10s and 11s with P&W (later GE) engines (not counting the tankers) compared to the 249 1011s eventually built.
Between the problems brought on by Rolls Royce and the C-5 fiasco, Lockheed just didn’t have the resources to extend the 1011 line or to develop the more popular smaller jets which were in greater demand. It was money problems, not reputation, that killed Lockheed’s commercial program.
Of course, Lockheed had one other failed commercial product in the 60s - the Jetstar, which with 4 engines compared to the competitions twinjets, was never able to compete in the business jet market. Almost double the maintenance costs and far higher fuel costs.
This is more like typical workplace banter.
“Hey, Clancy, straighten your tie or I gotta write ya up!”
“Yeah, Sarge, what are ya gonna do, transfer me to a walking beat on midnight in the Bronx? I’m already there!”
It probably went down like this:
Pilot (half smiling): “Hey, Airman, any chance I can take off sometime before Christmas?”
“What are ya gonna do, Captain? Transfer me to Greenland?”
Pilot: “Yeah, I hear you.”
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