Thiruvananthapuram: Seaplane services may have failed to take off in the State, but what baffles aviation safety experts is the composition of an expert panel mandated to go into the issue.
The committee will have just a single-point agenda: in what way would seaplanes affect fishing, protests over which had grounded them after the inaugural flight.
The committee, as named last Tuesday, would hardly serve any purpose, according to Jacob K. Philip, editor and aviation safety expert.
As far as the seaplane is concerned, the main issue of dispute is the extent of area to be set apart for exclusive use for seaplanes to land, taxi and take-off.
“At Punnamada in Alappuzha (one of the proposed waterdromes), about 100 acres of water surface have been set apart,” Philip told Business Line. No fishing is allowed in these waters. But according to US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the water area needed for these waterdromes is 14 to 60 acres only, Philip said.
28/07/13 Vinson Kurian/Business Line
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The committee will have just a single-point agenda: in what way would seaplanes affect fishing, protests over which had grounded them after the inaugural flight.
The committee, as named last Tuesday, would hardly serve any purpose, according to Jacob K. Philip, editor and aviation safety expert.
As far as the seaplane is concerned, the main issue of dispute is the extent of area to be set apart for exclusive use for seaplanes to land, taxi and take-off.
“At Punnamada in Alappuzha (one of the proposed waterdromes), about 100 acres of water surface have been set apart,” Philip told Business Line. No fishing is allowed in these waters. But according to US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the water area needed for these waterdromes is 14 to 60 acres only, Philip said.
28/07/13 Vinson Kurian/Business Line
