Fokker 100: Rapid "takeoff" and fast "landing"

This aircraft developed and put into production by a Dutch company of the same name. The company was organized in 1912 and already in the First World War it became famous thanks to its fighters.


The medium-range airliner was developed on the basis of its predecessor, the Fokker 28. However, only the airframe was taken from it, and even then, with some changes. The new aircraft received the index "100", which indicates the number of passengers carried. Although in reality, the airliner's cabin is designed for 107 people.


The machine turned out to be successful and was in demand both in the Netherlands and abroad, where it sold well. However, the Fokker 100 was produced for a relatively short time: less than 11 years. What was wrong with this model? But first, let's look at the design of the Fokker.

Features

The aircraft is a narrow-body jet aircraft. Its purpose is to perform short and medium-haul flights. Compared to its predecessor, the body was made 5,51 m longer, the wingspan was increased by 3 m. The machine was equipped with turbojet engines from the well-known aviation and automotive company Rolls-Royce.


This is the Mk 620-15 or Tay Mk 650-15 model, developing a thrust of 61,6 or 67,2 kN, respectively. The interior of the cabin and cockpit was also radically changed, with new equipment installed.

First flights, tests

The airliner took to the skies in November 1986, and a year later it was already certified. Three months later, the plane was delivered to its first customer. The intervals are very short: from the moment of takeoff to the start of operation, less than a year and a half passed.


For comparison: the SSJ-100, similar in flight parameters to the Fokker 100, took to the skies on 19.05.2008, and its commercial operation began on 21.04.2011: i.e. almost three years later. We can say that here the Fokker was lucky or it simply turned out to be a good aircraft.

Exploitation

By 1991, the Dutch company had produced 70 aircraft and received orders for another 230. Moreover, one of the buyers of the Fokker 100 was the American airline American Airlines. The aircraft was purchased in Latin America, it flew in Afghanistan, Iran, Africa: all over the world. Isn't that a success?

Encouraged by the good state of affairs, the company's designers presented an updated version of the Fokker with an increased flight range in 1993. For this purpose, additional fuel tanks were installed in the center of the fuselage. In the same year, Fokker presented a shortened version of the "hundred" with the index "70" and accommodating up to 80 passengers. In fact, this was a replacement for the outdated Fokker 28. In 1994, the next version of the machine was developed - Fokker 100QC. Its special feature is the prompt transformation from a passenger aircraft to a cargo one. Later, a more spacious version of the liner was offered, designed for 130 people.


The company was doing well, but despite the orders, it managed to go bankrupt by March 1996. In 1997, they stopped producing the Fokker 100: only 283 units were produced. However, the history of the aircraft did not end there.

Accidents and incidents

Before the aircraft ceased to be mass-produced, there were only three serious incidents involving fatalities. One of them involved a terrorist attack, when a bomb exploded in the tail of the plane. Despite a 2x1,5 m hole, the plane managed to land safely in Sao Paulo.


However, after the aircraft was removed from the assembly line, it was like a "burst": accidents, falls - incidents followed one after another. Until 2019, there were officially eight of them (a total of 16 airliners were lost for one reason or another). It can be said that the most significant, "the one that broke the camel's back", was the last one. We are talking about the Fokker 100 (manufactured in 1996), which lost altitude during takeoff and crashed into a concrete fence at the Almaty airport. Of the 93 passengers, crew members, 12 (according to other sources 15) died, including the aircraft commander. The reason was neglect of maintenance rules.


So, a basically good airplane was unlucky with the manufacturer, management, and operators. Or maybe it was just not lucky enough. And it all started so well...