Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner. The manufacturer evaluated a number of different configurations before finally deciding on a high-wing twin Rolls-Royce Dart engine layout with a pressurised cabin for 28 passengers.
The first prototype, registered PH-NIV, first flew on 24 November 1955. The second prototype and initial production machines were 0.9 m (3 ft) longer, addressing the first aircraft's slightly tail-heavy handling and also providing space for four more passengers, bringing the total to 32. These aircraft also used the more powerful Dart Mk 528 engine.
In 1956, Fokker signed a licensing deal with the US aircraft manufacturer Fairchild for the latter to construct the F27 in the USA. The first U.S.-built aircraft flew on April 12, 1958. Fairchild also independently developed a stretched version, called the FH-227. Most sales by Fairchild were made in the North American market.
In the early 1980s, Fokker developed a successor to the Friendship, the Fokker 50. Although based on the F27-500 airframe, the Fokker 50 was virtually a new aircraft with Pratt & Whitney Canada engines and modern systems. Its general performance and passenger comfort were improved over the F27.
Basic price for an RDa.6 powered F27 in 1960 was £239,000. At the end of the Fokker F27’s production in 1987, 586 units had been built (plus another 207 F-27s and FH-227s in the USA by Fairchild), more than any other western European civil turboprop airliner at the time.
Many aircraft have been modified from passenger service to cargo or express-package freighter roles. The last major cargo user of the F27 in the United States was FedEx Express, as cargo "feeder" aircraft. These were retired and replaced by ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft by the end of 2009, with the last of the aircraft being donated to the Hickory Aviation Museum.
As of July 2010 a total of 65 F27s were in commercial service with almost 30 different airlines. By July 2013 only 25 Friendships remained in service, operated by 13 different airlines; most were F27-500s, with two -400s and a solitary -600 series aircraft in service. Italian cargo airline MiniLiner operated six F27s and Air Panama had four in its fleet. The United States Army Parachute Team has used a C-31A Troopship for its skydiving exhibitions since 1985.
Variants
F27-100 - was the first production model; 44 passengers.
F27-400 - "Combi" passenger/cargo aircraft, with two Rolls-Royce Dart 7 turboprop engines and large cargo door.
F27-400M - Military version for US Army with designation C-31A Troopship, still in use in 2015.
F27-500 - The -500, had a 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) longer fuselage, a return to the Dart Mk 528 engine, and accommodation for up to 52 passengers. It first flew in November 1967.
F27-500M - Military version.
F27-500F - A version of the -500 for Australia with smaller front and rear doors.
F27-600 - Quick change cargo/passenger version of -200 with large cargo door.
F-27 - license-built version manufactured by Fairchild Hiller in the United States
FH-227 - stretched version of the F-27, independently developed and manufactured by Fairchild Hiller in the United States
Notable accidents and incidents
Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 - 10 June 1960 Mackay, Queensland, Australia: 29 fatalities - this is still the deadliest civilian Australian aircraft accident in history. The investigation was not able to determine a probable cause of this accident. The accident was critical in the development of the flight recorder to record parameters to aid investigations of future airliner accidents.
On 7 May 1964, Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashed into a hill in San Ramon, California, after a suicidal passenger killed both pilots and then turned the gun on himself. All 44 people on board were killed.
On the evening of November 15, 1964, Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 was flying from Phoenix, Arizona, to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, in poor weather conditions when it crashed into the top of a hill in open desert country about 10 miles (16 km) SSW of Las Vegas. All 29 aboard—26 passengers and a crew of three—died instantly when the plane exploded on impact, no more than 10 feet (3 m) below a ridge crest. It was Bonanza's only crash with fatalities during the airline's 23-year history.
On 6 August 1970 a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashed near small village Rawat, after take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board.
On 30 January 1971 Indian Airlines Fokker Friendship aircraft Ganga was hijacked by Hashim Quereshi and his cousin Ashraf Butt and was flown to Lahore, Pakistan where the passengers and crew were released and plane was burnt on February 1, 1971.
On 14 September 1978 a Philippine Air Force F27 crashed due to windshear. 15 of the 24 people on board were killed, as well as 17 people on the ground.
On 26 May 1980 a Nigerian Air Force F27 crashed due to a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board. The aircraft was carrying a delegation of military and government officials on a diplomatic mission.
On 20 July 1981 Somali Airlines Flight 40 crashed near Balad Somalia. All 50 passengers and crew on board were killed.
On 16 August 1986 a Sudan Airways F27 was shot down by the SPLA, killing all 60 people on board.
On 23 October 1986 a PIA Fokker F27 crashed while coming in to land in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board
On 8 December 1987 the Alianza Lima air disaster in which a Naval F27 that was transporting the Alianza Lima football club crashed in Lima, Peru, killing the whole team.
On 19 October 1988 thirty-four died in a Vayudoot F27 crash near Guwahati, India.
On 25 August 1989 a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker carrying 54 people disappeared after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage was never found.
On 8 November 1995 an Argentine Air Force F27, tail number TC-72, operating a LADE civilian flight from Comodoro Rivadavia to Córdoba, crashed on mount Champaquí in Córdoba, killing all 52 people, many of them children.
On 17 July 1997 Sempati Air Flight 304 crashed at Bandung, West Java, shortly after take-off when after engine failure the crew mishandled the return to the airport on one engine.
On 20 February 2003 a military F27 crashed in northwestern Pakistan killing Pakistan Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, his wife and 15 others.
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 carrying 45 people crashed 2–3 minutes after take off from Multan airport on 10 July 2006. There were no survivors. Engine fire was suspected as the cause of the crash.
On 6 April 2009 an Indonesian Air Force F27 crashed in Bandung, Indonesia killing all 24 occupants on board. The cause of the incident was said to be heavy rain. The plane reportedly crashed into a hangar during its landing procedure and killed all on board. The casualties include: 6 crews, an instructor and 17 special forces trainee personnel.
Fokker F-27 (N705FE) outside display persevered at [2] Hickory, North Carolina, USA
Fokker F27-100 F3 prototype (c/n 10102, PH-NVF) Preserved at the Aviodrome Lelystad in prototype colours.
Fokker F27-100 (c/n 10105, PH-FHF) The first production Fokker F27 Friendship preserved at the Aviodrome Lelystad, Netherlands marked in colours of NLM.
Fokker F27-300M Troopship (C-10), Preserved at National Military Museum, Soesterberg, Netherlands.
Fokker F27-500 (ex N19XE) Aircraft painted as first prototype PH-NIV, marking the entrance of the Fokker Logistics Park as Fokker Tribute, the former factory location at Schiphol/Oude Meer.
Fokker F27-200 TF-SYN, c/n 10545, formerly of Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (Icelandic Coast Guard) is on permanent display in Flugsafn Íslands (Icelandic Aviation Museum), Akureyri Airport, Akureyri, Iceland.
F27-100 ZK-BXG, cn 10189 at Ferrymead Aeronautical Society, Ferrymead Heritage Park, Christchurch, New Zealand in NZ National Airways Corporation colours.
F27-100 ZK-BXI, cn10286 at Chatham Islands Aviation Museum. Under restoration.
