Runways to disaster

New Delhi: Each time simultaneous operations are on at IGI Airport and planes have to take off towards Dwarka, both the pilots and the ATC keep their fingers firmly crossed.
In the last few months, "procedural lapses" saw planes being allowed to take off within seconds of each other towards Dwarka. Since the runways converge, the planes found themselves climbing dangerously on a collision course. Only frantic last-minute communication exhorting them to take separate courses saved the day.
The authorities are now considering designating one runway for takeoff and the other for landing to avoid such incidents in the future.
The country's busiest airport, Mumbai, also has its share of hazards. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), the "control tower is an obstruction to the safety surfaces" of the secondary runway.
IATA (India) country manager Robey Lal says that this issue has been taken up with MIAL and they have proposed a new tower in their master plan.
IATA points out that villagers have breached airport boundary walls at some airports so that their cattle can graze on the green spaces around airstrips. This incursion on the runways poses a serious threat to planes.
A senior pilot said that the danger of a bird hit as they approach runways is very high in places like Delhi and Ahmedabad.
In Delhi, the unsanitary conditions in Dwarka and flight path from the Vasant Vihar side attract birds, causing hits.
Drainage remains such a sore point that runways often get waterlogged. AAI officials insist all runways conform to ICAO standards and wherever there's an obstacle the required operating procedures have been set. But the problem persists as even a slight deviation from procedures can lead to a major trouble.
20/07/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007, Safety Jul 2007