Consumer groups want Spanish airline to scrap CN-235 fleet

Spanish consumer groups and others are urging that a local airline scrap its fleet of five CASA CN-235s in favor of larger, safer planes.

"Consumer organizations in Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, have lobbied for some time to get larger and 'more modern' aircraft for flights operated by Binter Mediterraneo between the territory and the Spanish mainland," Aviation International News reports.

Since the August 29 Binter crash, "user organizations, supported by the president of the territory of Melilla, have stepped up pressure on the airline to phase out and replace its five CN-235s with larger types."

"Several recent accidents of military CN-235s in Turkey have fueled the aversion to the 44-seat turboprops among users dependent on Binter’s link with their homeland."