Because until then long runways were rare. When they started being built world wide, the need for large amphibs ended. The US Navy retired its last amphib (P-5) in 1967.
Posted on 12/21/2005 1:58:52 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham
MIAMI BEACH -- An airline voluntarily grounded its fleet Wednesday for inspection after cracks were found in the main support beam of a wing that fell off its seaplane that crashed, killing all 20 people aboard, federal officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration took no action against Chalk's Ocean Airways, which operates four other seaplanes, spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. The move came the same day federal investigators said they were trying to determine why Chalk's had apparently not discovered the cracks.
The 58-year-old plane's cockpit voice recorder was found and was being sent to National Transportation Safety Board investigators in Washington along with part of the beam, said Mark Rosenker, the board's acting chairman.
[snip]
Chalk's general manager Roger Nair did not return repeated phone messages. Rosenker said the plane's age could have been a factor in the cracking. The plane was retrofitted in the 1980s with more powerful engines, but it wasn't clear if that played any role in the cracking, Rosenker said.
Those changes would not have affected the beam, said Joseph Frakes, assistant manager of Frakes Aviation, the company that installed the new engines and refurbished the seaplanes.
He wasn't sure if the beam was inspected at the time of the improvements. ``At the time those mods were made, the airplane would have a thorough inspection to make sure that it was a suitable aircraft to be modified,'' he said. He declined to give further details because his company was part of the NTSB investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
If God meant for men to fly, He'd have given us wings.
Air travel is potentially dangerous, as are many things we do in our modern lives. Traveling aboard a 58 year-old SEAPLANE, a conveyance that is routinely subjected to tremendous forces and corrosive elements, is foolhardy.
Anyone ever wonder why the big airlines abandoned seaplanes half a century ago?
Because until then long runways were rare. When they started being built world wide, the need for large amphibs ended. The US Navy retired its last amphib (P-5) in 1967.
This is all I could find on Chalk and Grumman from arsa.org:
Docket No.: FAA-2004-17395.
Petitioner: Flying Boat, Inc. d.b.a Chalk's International Airlines. Sections of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 121.354(b).
Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Flying Boat, Inc. d.b.a Chalks International Airlines (Chalk's), to continue to operate four Grumman Turbine Mallard G73T aircraft after March 29, 2005, without having an approved terrain awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C151 installed on these aircraft. The exemption also permits Chalk's to operate these aircraft without an approved terrain awareness display. Grant, 06/10/2005, Exemption No. 8563.
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