Fresh safety norms issued for 'strict' compliance by airlines

New Delhi: India's aviation regulator Wednesday issued "strict" directives to all carriers, asking pilots to refrain from forced soft landings or leaving the cockpit inadequately manned, following a spate of incidents, one of which claimed 158 lives.
"Ensure correct landings are aimed by pilots, rather than achieving 'soft' landings that may compromise the runway-stopping distance required," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in the strong missive to all carriers.
Reports after the Air India Express mishap at Mangalore May 22 suggested that the main reason for the crash could have been a soft landing attempted by the pilot, which many airlines informally insist for the comfort of passengers, thereby overshooting the touchdown point on the runway.
"A good landing is not one that the passengers perceive as a soft landing, but one that is made at the correct point on the runway with the correct flight parameters," said the directorate in what is called the standard operating procedures in aviation parlance.
"An attempt to cushion a decent landing to make a soft landing could result in a delayed touchdown that would need harsh deceleration to maintain the aircraft on the runway or even worse a runway excursion with possible catastrophic results," said the regulator.
02/06/10 IANS/Economic Times

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Categories: Safety Jun 2010