Chennai: The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probe into the incident involving a Spicejet aircraft which scraped its tail on the runway after its rear landing gear did not open fully will expose a safety violation in connection with an unauthorised altering of the specification of the runway at Tuticorin airport.
According to sources, an inspection team, headed by a top DGCA official in charge of the safety, had altered the Pavement Classification Number (PCN), an indicator to runway safety. The documents at the airport show that the DGCA had altered the number 13 to 21 on November 21, 2011 so that Bombardier Q400 aircraft can be allowed to land at the airport.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a senior pilot and member of Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Committee (CASAC), said a runway with PCN 13 could handle only an ATR aircraft.
29/03/13 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India
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According to sources, an inspection team, headed by a top DGCA official in charge of the safety, had altered the Pavement Classification Number (PCN), an indicator to runway safety. The documents at the airport show that the DGCA had altered the number 13 to 21 on November 21, 2011 so that Bombardier Q400 aircraft can be allowed to land at the airport.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a senior pilot and member of Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Committee (CASAC), said a runway with PCN 13 could handle only an ATR aircraft.
29/03/13 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India
