Monday, April 15, 2019

Glitches in landing aid at Guindy end of runway

Chennai: Pilots preparing to land from the Guindy-end of the runway in the city airport are experiencing intermittent or weak signals from the Instrument Landing System (ILS) that aids pilots to land in case they are unable to establish visual contact on a runway. At least one aviation expert has blamed the Metro’s metal roofing at Alandur for the glitch.

"It is not a critical issue as far as safety is concerned but weak signals delay the landing process," said an airport official.

A notam (notice to airmen) has already been issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) informing pilots that there is a bend in the localiser, a machine used in the ILS, which provides information to guide planes to the runway.

Pilots look out for the runway aided by ILS signals as the plane descends towards the airport from a certain height called ‘minimum’. "We have decided to set the ‘minimum’ at 300 to 350feet instead of the usual 250feet because of the unreliable localiser. If there is no contact at that altitude, the next step is a go-around," said a pilot.

A go-around is when pilots rev up the engines and fly away instead of landing because of technical reasons. The pilot said that this becomes a problem during the rainy season when visibility is poor. The signals must be getting deflected probably because of obstacles, often by metallic objects, he added.
15/04/19 Times of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

0 comments:

Post a Comment