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The Short 360 (also SD3-60; also Shorts 360)Mondey, David. ''Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft''. New York: Crescent Books, 1981. , p. 228. is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer
Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
during the 1980s. The Short 360 seats up to 39 passengers and was introduced into service in November 1982. It is a larger version of the
Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...
.


Development

During the 1970s, the world's commuter airline market began to evolve from the 20-seat class to larger and more comfortable cabins. Short Brothers of Northern Ireland had created the Skyvan in 1962, followed by the related but larger
Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...
in 1974. The Short 360 development was announced in 1980, with the prototype's first flight on 1 June 1981 and
type certification A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applic ...
awarded on 3 September 1981. The first production Short 360 had its maiden flight on 19 August 1982 and entered service with Suburban Airlines (later merged with
Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself ...
/ US Airways) in November 1982. After initiating production with the basic model, Short marketed a number of 360 developments. First was the ''360 Advanced'', in late 1985, with 1,424 shp (1,062 kW) PT6A-65-AR engines. That was followed by the ''360/300'', in March 1987, with six-blade propellers, more powerful PT6A-67R engines, and aerodynamic improvements, giving a higher cruise speed and improved "hot and high" performance. The 360/300 was also built in 360/300F freighter configuration. Production of the 360 ceased in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...
after 165 deliveries."Short 360."
''Airliners.net.'' Retrieved: 9 August 2007.


Design

The Short 360 is a 36-seat derivative of the 30–33 seat
Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...
. In high density configuration, 39 passengers could be carried. The two Short airliners have a high degree of commonality and are very close in overall dimensions. The later 360 is easily identified by a larger, swept tail unit mounted on a revised rear fuselage. The 360 has a fuselage "plug" which gave sufficient additional length for two more seat rows (six more passengers), while the extra length smoothed out the aerodynamic profile and reduced
drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...
. Seating is arranged with two seats on the starboard side of the cabin and one seat on the port side. The 360's power is supplied by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65Rs. Building on the strengths and reputation of its 330 antecedent, the 360s found a niche in regional airline use worldwide, being able to operate comfortably from 4,500 ft (1,400 m) runways – opening up hundreds of airfields that would otherwise be inaccessible to airliners. With a cruise speed about , at an altitude of , the unpressurized 360 was not the fastest turboprop in its market, but it offered acceptable performance at a reasonable price, combined with ease of service and maintainability. The PT6A turboprops are fully ICAO Stage 3 noise-compliant, making the 360 one of the quietest turboprop aircraft operating today.


Variants

*360-100 - the first production model with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65R turboprop engines.Frawley, Gerard. ''The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003/2004''. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., 2003. , p. 193. *360 Advanced - with PT6A-65AR engines rated at 1,424 shp (1,062 kW) each. The aircraft was later redesignated ''360-200''. Introduced in late 1985. * - with more powerful PT6A-67R engines with six-blade
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. Higher cruise speed and improved performance. *360-300F - the freighter version of the -300, with capacity for five LD3 cargo containers. * Short C-23 Sherpa B+ and C variants are military-configured Short 360s operated by the
United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
."Olive-Drab: C-23."
''olive-drab.com''. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
Twenty-eight C-23B+ were produced by conversions of civilian Short 360 airframes, and the C-23C was a conversion of C-23B and C-23B+.


Operators

In 1998, approximately 110 360s were in service. In 2017 there were 42 Short 360 in service: 17 with Air Cargo Carriers, 6 with TransAir, 4 with
Skyway Enterprises Skyway Enterprises Inc. is an American airline based in Kissimmee, Florida, United States. It operates domestic/international on demand cargo and passenger charter flights, as well as contract flights for FedEx, UPS, and Government.''Flight Inter ...
, 3 with Air Flamenco, 2 with Benair, Deraya Air Taxi and Freedom Air (Guam), 1 with Ayit Aviation, Comeravia, Gryphon Airlines, International Trans Air Business, Malu Aviation and Nightexpress. The Short 360 specifically proved very popular with the UK's regional airlines including the Isle of Man-based-Manx. This fed passengers into larger hubs in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Current and previous operators have included:


Civil operators


Military operators

; *
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...
; *
Venezuelan Air Force , colours = Bleu celeste , colours_label = , march = , "Hymn of the National Military Aviation" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_hono ...
(Fuerza Aérea Venezolana)


Accidents and incidents

The Short 360 has been involved in 15 hull-loss accidents, resulting in the loss of 16 airframes. * 22 October 1985: A CAAC flight overran the runway while landing at Enshi Airport. There were no fatalities, but the airframe was written off. * 31 January 1986: An Aer Lingus flight crashed on approach to East Midlands Airport, UK, due to airframe icing and turbulent conditions. There were no fatalities, but the airframe was written off. * 13 December 1987:
Philippine Airlines Flight 443 Philippine Airlines Flight 443 was an early morning domestic flight that crashed into Mount Gurain, Philippines, on December 19, 1987. The Short 360-300 operating the route departed Mactan–Cebu International Airport at 6:42 a.m. local time. Th ...
, using a Short 360 registration EI-BTJ crashed into a 5,000' mountain in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
while approaching Iligan. All 11 passengers and 4 crew on board were killed. * 28 November 1989: A newly built aircraft, not yet delivered to a customer, was destroyed by a bomb on the apron at Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland. The device had been planted by the IRA. There were no fatalities., * 20 August 1990: A CCAir aircraft parked at Charlotte-Douglas Airport (Charlotte, North Carolina, USA) was blown by a wind gust into an electrical power cart, and a fire started. There were no fatalities, but the airframe was written off. * 25 November 1997: An aircraft operated by Corporate Air landed heavily at Billings-Logan Airport (Billings, Montana, USA) in gusty wind conditions. The nosewheel strut collapsed, leading to a crash with the loss of the airframe. There were no fatalities. * 9 February 1998: A British Regional Airlines aircraft landed heavily at Stornoway Airport In Scotland. The undercarriage was damaged leading to a crash with the loss of the airframe. There were no fatalities. * 13 January 2000: A Sirte Oil Company Short 360 crashed on approach near
Brega Brega , also known as ''Mersa Brega'' or ''Marsa al-Brega'' ( ar, مرسى البريقة , i.e. "Brega Seaport"), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated in Libya on the Gulf of Sidra, ...
; 22 of the 41 passengers and crew on board were killed. * 23 September 2000: A
Gill Airways Gill Airways was a regional airline with its head office in New Aviation House on the grounds of Newcastle Airport in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, United Kingdom. History Founded in 1969 by Michael Gill, the airline originally operated as Gi ...
flight was forced to make an emergency landing after its left engine failed. There were no injuries. * 4 February 2001: Short 360-100 registration ''EI-BPD'', carrying 25 passengers and 3 crew, was damaged beyond repair following a hard landing at Sheffield City Airport after a scheduled Aer Arann Express passenger flight from
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
. There were no injuries. * 27 February 2001: Loganair Flight 670A crashed into the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meanin ...
in Scotland shortly after takeoff from Edinburgh Airport. Both engines failed after ingesting blowing snow while on the ground. Both pilots were killed (no others on board). * 21 August 2004: A
Venezuelan Air Force , colours = Bleu celeste , colours_label = , march = , "Hymn of the National Military Aviation" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_hono ...
Short 360 crashed into a mountain while descending to land at
Maracay ) , image_skyline = , image_caption =Top:Maracay Municipal Garden and Las Delicias area, Second: Sindoni Tower, Los Tamarindo residential area and overview to Maracay, Third:Maestranza Cesar Giron Bullring Stadium, Girardot Square and Maraca ...
, killing all 30 people on board in the deadliest aviation accident involving a Short 360. * 16 December 2004: An Air Cargo Carriers aircraft was lost at Oshawa Municipal Airport. After landing on a snow-covered runway, the pilot attempted a go-around when he realized he would be unable to stop. The aircraft failed to gain altitude and crashed. There were no fatalities. * 5 February 2006: Two Short 360-300 freighters, modded for a DOD contract, operated by Air Cargo Carriers, were flying in formation when they collided near Watertown, Wisconsin, US. N3735W attempted to maneuver below N372AC in a right turn and struck the left/ underside of N372AC. The left wing outer section of N3735W was struck and separated by the leading edge of N372AC's left wing, and the aircraft crashed, killing all three occupants. The left propeller of N3735W had struck the forward section of the left "stub wing" of N372AC (the structure housing the left main landing gear and hydraulic service panel). N372AC sustained severe damage, including structural, engine, propeller (losing several blades), aerodynamic, and complete hydraulic failure (affecting flaps, landing gear, nose wheel steering, and primary brakes). The crew managed to make an emergency landing at Dodge County Airport in Juneau, WI (KUNU), but overran the runway due to the damage to the aircraft. The left aileron of N3735W was found on the runway that N372AC landed on. Both crewmen survived uninjured, but N372AC was damaged beyond reasonable repair. * 17 May 2012: An Air Cargo Carriers Short 360 (registration N617FB) was substantially damaged following a wheel brake fire during taxi at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas. There were no injuries to the flight crew of two. The airplane was 60 pounds over Max. takeoff weight and during the long taxi to position for takeoff the crew used a higher than normal power setting and rode the brakes in an attempt to lower weight by burning fuel. Its intended destination was Austin, Texas. * 29 October 2014: A
Skyway Enterprises Skyway Enterprises Inc. is an American airline based in Kissimmee, Florida, United States. It operates domestic/international on demand cargo and passenger charter flights, as well as contract flights for FedEx, UPS, and Government.''Flight Inter ...
Short SD-360 (registration N380MQ) cargo flight on behalf of FedEx, scheduled from Sint Maarten, Kingdom of Netherlands to San Juan, Puerto Rico lost altitude during climb out and crashed into the water about 2 nautical miles off the end of runway at about 18:35L (22:35 UTC), killing both members of the flight crew. * 23 December 2021: A Malu Aviation Shorts 360-300 is reported to have crashed in D.R. Congo, killing all five on board.


Specifications (360-300)


See also


References


Further reading


Short 360 page on Airliners.net
* * Barnes C.H. and Derek N. James.''Shorts Aircraft since 1900''. London: Putnam, 1989. . * Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft''. London: Aurum, 1999. . {{Short Brothers aircraft 1980s British airliners
360 360 may refer to: * 360 (number) * 360 AD, a year * 360 BC, a year * 360 degrees, a circle Businesses and organizations * 360 Architecture, an American architectural design firm * Ngong Ping 360, a tourism project in Lantau Island, Hong Kong * ...
Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1981