Stansted crash airline to replace ageing jets

Korean Air, which operated the cargo jet that crashed near Stansted in Essex on Wednesday, will replace 15 of its older aircraft with new models next year. The airline said yesterday that the decision was not connected with the crash.

Korean Air, which operated the cargo jet that crashed near Stansted in Essex on Wednesday, will replace 15 of its older aircraft with new models next year. The airline said yesterday that the decision was not connected with the crash.

All the aircraft that are to be replaced by the airline, which has one of the worst safety records in the world and a reputation for flying old planes, are 20 years old or more. After the change the average age of the fleet will be reduced to just over eight years old. Korean Air plans to order an additional 10 new planes by 2001, a spokesman said.

Investigators from the Air Accident Investigation Branch continued to try to establish the cause of the crash, in which all three crew and a company ground engineer on board died. The team were concentrating the search for the plane's flight data recorder in a lake and woods near the crash site.