Mumbai: A 35-metre-tall antenna installed at Juhu airstrip to pierce communication black holes that interrupt interaction with chopper fliers has been standing idle for the past three months, because the authorities have been remiss in attaching a lightning absorber on top of it.
Because of the safety hazard the omission may create, the tower — set up to maintain unbroken contact with pilots of helicopters — has not being commissioned since March.
The tower's installation became necessary as pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCOs) constantly reported loss of contact while flying in the north sector of Mumbai, where high-rises create a communication black hole, risking flight, a study said.
Earlier, there used to be a 13-metre-high tower near the airstrip, but it proved insufficient for signalling, so the Airports Authority of India (AAI) decided to make a taller one to expand signal strength.
"A communications tower already existing for about 30 years behind SNDT University at Juhu was dismantled and reinstalled at the airport. However, they forgot a crucial device, the lightening arrester (for grounding), delaying the tower's commissioning," an airport official said.
16/06/16 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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Because of the safety hazard the omission may create, the tower — set up to maintain unbroken contact with pilots of helicopters — has not being commissioned since March.
The tower's installation became necessary as pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCOs) constantly reported loss of contact while flying in the north sector of Mumbai, where high-rises create a communication black hole, risking flight, a study said.
Earlier, there used to be a 13-metre-high tower near the airstrip, but it proved insufficient for signalling, so the Airports Authority of India (AAI) decided to make a taller one to expand signal strength.
"A communications tower already existing for about 30 years behind SNDT University at Juhu was dismantled and reinstalled at the airport. However, they forgot a crucial device, the lightening arrester (for grounding), delaying the tower's commissioning," an airport official said.
16/06/16 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
