Flights diverted as stranded cargo plane blocks runway

Chennai: Several take-offs from Chennai airport were delayed for nearly an hour and four incoming flights were diverted after a cargo aircraft got stuck on the main runway on Friday.
The cargo flight was being towed from the cargo terminal to a remote parking bay at the airport when the tow vehicle developed a snag. The incident happened at 11pm, when a large number of domestic flights were coming in to land at the airport.
The giant Russian-made IL76 transport aircraft belonging to a cargo airline almost crossed the main runway when a tow bar used by the towing vehicle snapped. The plane got stranded at the point where the main runway intersects the secondary runway near the cargo terminal. Flights were not able to use the full length of the runway because the cargo aircraft stood too close to the main runway.
Sources said about 1,000 feet of the 12,000-foot runway could not be used. "We allowed smaller aircraft like ATR, which requires just 4,000 feet of runway length, to land. But take-offs were suspended because the length of the runway was not adequate to ensure safety," said an airport official.
26/02/12 Times of India

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Categories: airports Feb 2012, Cargo Feb 2012