Cobham BAe 146 performs final flight in WA
Charter, FIFO and special missions operator Cobham has completed its final British Aerospace 146 flight in Western Australia, ending nearly four decades of operations in the state.
The final flight, a FIFO flight for Minara Resources, touched down in Perth from Murrin Murrin at around 8:05pm on Thursday.
To mark the occasion, the aircraft, VH-NJY, was welcomed in Perth with a water cannon salute.
NJY has since been deployed to South Australia, where Cobham has consolidated its BAe146/RJ100 operations. Instead, Cobham will operate its fleet of Embraer E190 and De Havilland Q400 aircraft to service the WA FIFO and resources sector.
The flight marked the end of an era, as the distinguishable four-engine jet has operated in WA since 1985, initially by both Ansett and National Jet Systems (which later became Cobham).
Since 1990, National Jet Systems and Cobham have operated a total of 33 BAe 146 aircraft in the region, with Cobham fitting several of the aircraft with a “gravel kit” to for high-capacity jet operations to more remote mine sites in WA.
Using its BAe 146/RJ100 fleet, Cobham supported FIFO contracts for BHP, Rio Tinto and Anaconda, as well as commercial operations to Cocos Island and Christmas Island.
https://australianaviation.com.au/20...-flight-in-wa/