Angola has tapes of transmissions from downed German plane, but
 won't release them
     LUANDA (September 23, 1997 12:21 p.m. EDT) - Angola refuses to
 give Germany the recordings of its air traffic radio communications
 on the day a German military transport plane collided with a U.S.
 Air Force transport off its coast, an official said Tuesday.
     A German military Tupolev TU-154 plane carrying 24 people and a
 U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane, with nine people on board, were
 flying in the same air corridor when they disappeared from radar
 screens on September 13.
     The aircraft collided 95 nautical miles from the mouth of the
 river Kunene, on the border between Namibia and Angola.
     A German delegation investigating the incident travelled to the
 African country last week, but Angolan authorities refused to
 release the recordings with the Tupolev crew.
     Angola believes the recordings should be examined by all the
 countries involved in the accident -- Germany, the United States,
 Namibia and South Africa -- who had radar or radio contact with the
 planes, the source said.
     According to Luandan authorities, the accident happened outside
 Angolan airspace and its equipment was not sophisticated enough to
 track the planes' routes.
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               .S. Navy Plane Catches Fire
     There's been another accident involving a U.S. military plane.
 The Navy P3 lost a wheel and caught fire while landing at a base on
 Greek island of Crete today, but no one was hurt. Sixteen Americans
 were killed last week in six U.S. military air crashes. U.S. Defense
 Secretary William Cohen ordered a halt to all military training
 flights for 24 hours to study safety after the recent rash of
 accidents.
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                       A Bit of Local News
               AirTran pushes for nonstop flight to D.C.
    By Bill Brewer, News-Sentinel (Knoxville, TN) business writer
     For the second time in four months AirTran Airways is challeng-
 ing the tight grip major airlines have on landing slots by pushing
 for approval to fly nonstop from Knoxville to another large eastern
 seaboard airport.
     AirTran, which in May asked the U.S. Department of Transporta-
 tion to grant it slots for nonstop flights from Knoxville to New
 York's LaGuardia Airport, this month notified the Transportation
 Department it wants similar landing privileges at Washington, D.C.'s
 National Airport.
     The Orlando, Fla. based low-fare carrier already operates direct
 flights between Knoxville and Orlando.  Since starting its cut-rate
 route in 1994, the Knoxville-Orlando flights have grown more than
 329 percent and the Disney capital is now the top destination of
 travelers departing Knoxville, according to McGhee Tyson Airport
 officials.
     In calling for Transportation Department Secretary Rodney Slater
 to open competition at Washington National, AirTran officials say
 East Tennessee passengers suffer from unaffordable air fares.
     "The residents of eastern Tennessee are held hostage to over-
 priced, inferior service because of the artificial slot constraints
 at Washington National. Fares currently exceed 62 cents per mile due
 to market concentration and lack of convenient jet service in the
 market," stated Lawrence L. Brinker, AirTran general counsel and
 secretary.
     Unrestricted fares by one regional carrier flying from Knoxville
 to Washington that surpass 62 cents per mile are "particularly
 shocking" in comparison to the 18-cents-per-mile fare offered between
 Nashville and Baltimore, according to Brinker.
     Brinker is confident DOT will bow to political pressure that's
 building to overturn slot restrictions.
     Lawmakers urging relaxation of air carriers' control over air-
 port slots have been pressing DOT to rule on the issue.
     DOT said it will decide on the slots within the first two weeks
 of October.
     Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn., who is chairman of the Aviation
 Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,
 has contacted Slater seeking approval of slot openings for AirTran.
 "He strongly supports these new exemptions to the slot-controlled
 airports," said Duncan spokesman Jim Coon.
     AirTran wants government intervention in the matter after deter-
 mining buying or leasing the slots from the major carriers would be
 too expensive. The slots are said to be worth $500,000 to $3 million
 each, depending on time of day.
     "We have decided it's not cost effective to purchase slots,"
 said Eric Hanson, an AirTran spokesman.
     "We believe the Knoxville market could support (Knoxville-Wash-
 ington flights). We believe the market is underserved."
     Nonstop commuter flights currently service Washington from
 Knoxville.
     United Airlines halted nonstop jet service from Knoxville to
 Washington in the 1980s. Delta Air Lines previously operated nonstop
 jet service from McGhee Tyson to LaGuardia but discontinued the
 flights.
     AirTran is one of several airlines calling for slot openings.
 Among others seeking LaGuardia service are ValuJet, which is merging
 with AirTran, and Frontier.
     AirTran vows to cut fares to Washington, now an average of $155,
 by 50 percent and offer two direct flights a day aboard 126-seat
 Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
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