OST-97-2883 / Heavylift-Volgadnepr / September 4, 1997

Application of  

HEAVYLIFT-VOLGADNEPR LTD.
for an emergency exemption pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 40109(c)

HEAVYLIFT-VOLGADNEPR LTD. ("HeavyLift Volga Dnepr"), for Volga Dnepr JSE, hereby applies for an emergency exemption from the provisions of 49 U.S.C. §§ 40109(g) and 41703(c), and otherwise applicable provisions of the Department's regulations, so as to permit the operation of one one-way outsized cargo charter flight on September 13 or 14, 1997 in interstate air transportation, utilizing Volga Dnepr's AN124-100 aircraft for transportation of one outsize Echostar III satellite and related equipment from Moffett Field, California to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Because of the need to position the AN124-100 aircraft in advance of the proposed flight, Applicant requests disposition of this application on or before close of business on September 12, 1997.

In support of its application, HeavyLift VolgaDnepr respectfully states as follows:

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1. This application is filed because the shipper, Lockheed Martin AstroSpace of Princeton, New Jersey urgently requires the air delivery of one Echostar III satellite and related equipment from Moffett Field, California to Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 13 or 14, 1997. The need for this flight is summarized below:

2. The shipper/manufacturer, Lockheed Martin AstroSpace, in order to comply with its contractual requirements and re-scheduled launch date from Cape Canaveral, requires delivery of an Echostar III satellite from Moffett Field, California to Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 13 or 14, 1997. Production was behind schedule when on August 21, 1997, an application was forwarded in Docket No. OST 97-2844 for approval of an identical flight then scheduled to operate on September 3, 1397. Because of potential anomalies identified on inspection in the final stages of satellite production, shipment was delayed. The Echostar III satellite is now scheduled for shipment from Moffett Field to Cape Canaveral on September 13, 1997; an additional 10 days behind schedule.

3. Applicant reported in OST 97-2844 that the satellite was then scheduled for mating at Cape Canaveral with an Atlas Rocket in preparation for a scheduled launch date of October 6, 1997; that maintenance of the planned launch date required arrival at Cape Canaveral not later than September 4, and that delay thereafter would result in inability to meet the launch date and would require

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postponement for a substantial time, to the injury of the shipper and its customer.

4. That harmful delay can now be avoided in time to meet a new launch availability date in mid-October, but only if the satellite is delivered to Cape Canaveral by the close of business on September 14. A two day launch date "window" has appeared for shortly after mid-October, as the result of the delay in launch of a different satellite originally scheduled for that narrow time period. In order to maintain the new planned launch date of the Echostar III in that "window", the satellite must arrive at Cape Canaveral no later than September 14. Any delay thereafter would result in inability to complete mating and necessary preparation in order to meet the new launch date; and NASA has confirmed that failure to meet the new launch date would further postpone the launch for substantial time period that would add to the adverse affect on the shipper's customer, and put the shipper at substantial monetary risk.

5. The satellite, in its container, is 43 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 12 feet high, and weighs in excess of 40,000 lbs. This shipment is too large to fit in any U.S. carrier aircraft.

6. Shipment of this satellite by ground transportation is not feasible because its delicate instrumentation could be adversely affected by a road trip approximating 3,000 miles; because completion of the satellite is already behind schedule and

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such a trip could be expected to add at least six days to the already desperately short time period available.

7. This is an important and urgent matter for the shipper, and the air transportation requested is essential to maintain the contract schedule and reserved launch date.

8. Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 40109(g), the Department is authorized to grant a foreign air carrier the right to conduct commercial operations between U.S. points under limited circumstances. Specifically, the Department must find that such authority is required in the public interest; that, because of an emergency created by unusual circumstances not arising in the normal course of business, the traffic cannot be accommodated by certificated U.S. carriers, and that the exemption is necessary to avoid unreasonable hardship for the traffic.

9. A grant of this application would be consistent with the public interest; and the application meets all relevant criteria under 49 U.S.C. § 40109(g) for the grant of an exemption. The use of HeavyLift's AN124-100 aircraft is the only option left that would avoid undue hardship to the shipper and its customer that would result from delay. Surface transportation is not feasible nor is air transportation by any U.S. certificated carrier.

A copy of this application has been served by facsimile on all persons listed on the attached service list this 4th day of September, 1997.

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WHEREFORE, HeavyLift Volga Dnepr, Ltd. requests an immediate grant of this application to permit the operation on September 13 or 14, 1997 of one one-way outsized cargo charter flight transporting one satellite in container from and related equipment from Moffett Field, California to Cape Canaveral, Florida in Volga Dnepr's AN124-100 aircraft.

Respectfully submitted,

MILLER HAMILTON, Lester M. Bridgeman
Attorney for Applicant HeavyLift Volga Dnepr, Ltd.