Canines dog runway, 45 caught in a month

Mumbai: While birds may be a pilot's nightmare anywhere in the world, it is dogs which have made landings and take-offs at Mumbai airport more troublesome than ever. On August 29, the Times Of India had reported that a dog was crushed on the runway by a plane making a landing.
This was the second case reported in the past few months of a canine loitering on the runway.
However, Air Traffic Control (ATC) as well as security sources say that dogs on the Mumbai airport runway are as common as potholes in the city. An estimate given by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) seems to support this claim. The dog squad appointed by MIAL, which is usually on a 24-hour prowl to spot and catch dogs on the airport premises , gets hold of as many as 40-45 dogs a month.
ATC officials as well as pilots say that this figure seems to belie the efforts MIAL claims to be making in improving the security system and preventing intrusions inside the airport, particularly from the airside.
"The runway has to be clear when an aircraft is landing or taking-off. Any disruption there is likely to damage either the aircraft or put the passengers ' lives at great risk. However, no one seems to be looking into the problem seriously,'' said a pilot, who flies with a commercial airline.
"Forty-five dogs on airport premises would mean that flights operating from the airport stand a chance of hitting a canine almost every day,'' he added.
Pilots point out that though not as dangerous as a bird-hit, a dog-hit stands a good chance of resulting in either a major engine failure, which might also set the aircraft on fire, or could make the plane skid off the runway.
08/09/08 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Sep 2008, Safety Sep 2008