Electrical dept stares down the barrel

The electrical and communication departments of Mumbai airport could face the music for the crisis triggered on Wednesday, when the entire Air Traffic Control system collapsed after a power failure. The danger in the sky was compounded when even the batteries of three of the five VHF handsets, the assured contact between the ATC and the planes above, also ceased to work.
The nightmarish scenario unfolded in the city skies around 11.40am, when 16 planes in Mumbai airspace were in direct contact with the ATC. Sources in the Director General of Civil Aviation told DNA that both DGCA and Airports Authority of India (AAI) were conducting simultaneous inquiries into the incident. Officially, Mumbai airport authorities tried to play down the incident, while AAI spokesman MC Kishore feigned ignorance about the incident.
On Wednesday, the entire ATC set up — three radars and the VHF sets — completely stopped work. The stand-by UPS system too tripped, blanking out the entire communication system.
The battery-operated VHF handsets should have worked, but to the horror of the operators, three of the five sets conked out.
05/10/07 Yogesh Kumar/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Oct 2007, Safety Oct 2007