De Havilland BC DHBC-9 Kehloke

The De Havilland BC Kehloke ("ring-tailed eagle" in Chinook Wawa) was a jet airliner designed and built by the De Havilland British Columbia division of De Havilland North America.

Intended to be a replacement for the Trident and to compete with Boeing's 737 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family, it could accomodate between 155 and 190 passengers in a six-abreast layout in three classes. Powered by Rolls-Royce RB-211 engines, the prototype Kehloke 1 made its maiden flight on 26 October 1983.

= History = Air British Columbia placed the first order for the Kehloke in 1984, putting 28 on firm order and taking an option on 14 more, whilst the second order came from Inter-Dominion Air Lines, who placed 4 firm orders and took options on 30 more. The first Kehloke 1 was delivered to Air British Columbia and the second to Inter-Dominion in December 1986; in January 1987, IDAL converted eight of its options to firm orders.

The first foreign order came from Aeromexico of Mexico in 1984, with 16 firm and 10 options; Aeromexico went on to become the largest foreign operator of the Kehloke after it bought eight second-hand from Pacific Western Air Lines in 2003. A major event in international aviation came in 1985, when Malév, the national airline of then-communist Hungary, expressed interest in the Kehloke. After a series of negotiations between the Dominion government and Hungary, as well the United Kingdom (manufacturer of the engines) and the United States (where some of the avionics were manufactured), the order was approved by all parties, and Malév's order for 4 firm and 4 options became the first order for new-build airliners placed by a communist country with a North American manufacturer. By September 1986, firm orders for 87 and options on a further 177 had been received from a total of thirteen airlines.

Despite the fair success of the Trident and other types and the promising start to the production of the Kehloke, the early 1980s were a difficult period for DHNA, and in March of 1986, it was bought out by Boeing amidst assurances that production lines would remain open. The Boeing takeover was finalised by October 1987, in which month Boeing closed down its original BC-based subsidiary based in Victoria.

In February 1993, after the 95th Kehloke was delivered, fulfilling the firm orders placed by 1 October 1987, Boeing announced the closure of the Kehloke production line, converting the remaining options to 737 variants whilst honouring the original terms. In retaliation, in April the BC government cancelled an order for 3 Boeing 767s which were to have been delivered to the Royal BC Air Force for use as long-range VIP transports; in the following month, an order was placed with Boeing's rival McDonnell Douglas for 3 MD-11s in VIP configuration to fulfil the role envisioned for the 767s; these were designated Detroit CV.2 in RBCAF service.

Incidents

 * 7 December 1994: Air BC Kehloke 1 VB-KAC, operating as Air BC Flight ZX17 from Victoria, crashed due to wind shear during a bad-weather landing at Blaenau International Airport. Of the 147 passengers and crew aboard, only four survived; it remains the worst aviation disaster in BC history.

= Variants = Kehloke 1: the original variant, 155-190 passengers, Rolls-Royce RB211 engines, 95 built.

Kehloke 2: stretched version, 170-224 passengers, Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. Three built for South African Airways, 98 options were taken by Air Canada, Inter-Dominion, Pacific Western, South African Airways, and AirCal.

Kehloke 3: shortened extended-range version, 140-174 passengers, Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. Planned but not built, 66 options taken by Air Afrique, Air Canada, China Airlines, CP Air, Panagra Airways, and Inter-Dominion.

= Production =

Unfulfilled options

 * Aeromexico: 10 Kehloke 1
 * Air Afrique: 8 Kehloke 3
 * Air BC: 14 Kehloke 2
 * Air Canada: 14 Kehloke 2, 14 Kehloke 3
 * Awyr Cymru: 4 Kehloke 1
 * China Airlines: 4 Kehloke 3
 * CP Air: 6 Kehloke 1, 12 Kehloke 3
 * Dragonair: 5 Kehloke 1
 * Inter-Dominion Air Lines: 12 Kehloke 2, 10 Kehloke 3
 * Malév: 4 Kehloke 1
 * Pacific Western Air Lines: 12 Kehloke 1, 12 Kehloke 2
 * South African Airways: 12 Kehloke 2
 * US Airways: 34 Kehloke 2

Air BC		28 + 14 IDAL 		12 + 22 Aeromexico	16 + 10 (1986-1990, last ret 2016) PWAL		14 + 24 China Al	6 + 4 Awyr Cymru	6 + 4 1988-1989 (sold to Albanian Airlines in 2009) Dragonair	5 + 5 MALEV		4 + 4 CP Air		4 + 18