Landing ‘blind’ on Chennai main runway

Chennai: Flights have been landing at night on the main runway (runway 25) of the Chennai Airport for over 10 days without visual aid, putting the lives of passengers at risk, according to sources.
It all began after airport authorities truncated the available runway length for landing by 960 metres because of expansion work. Two types of systems viz, ILS (Instrument Landing System) and PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) are used for night landing. According to the rulebook, the pilot must get support from either of the two systems for landing.
Failure to provide such support would amount to a gross violation of norms, putting the aircraft at risk of overshooting the runway.
The problem is this: the PAPI that is already in place falls within the truncated 960 metre area, so it is of no use to pilots at present. No temporary arrangement has been made to provide an alternative within the current operational area.
ILS too is not available.
Curiously, none of the airport agencies like the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) realised the violation until pilots complained of their discomfort in landing during their final approach.
The issue came to light a few days ago when airlines started receiving complaints from pilots about the absence of a lighting system at the ground level that guides them for landing.
15/04/10 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Apr 2010, Safety Apr 2010