Panaji: The unfortunate crash of a MiG 29KUB fighter aircraft on Saturday has once again shone the uncomfortable spotlight on safety norms for airports, particularly garbage disposal around Goa International Airport and construction along the approach path of aircraft.
Experts and official sources point out that if a commercial airliner suffered a similar bird strike with both engines flaming out, the damage to life and property could be significantly greater.
“While a Navy pilot can eject, in a commercial airliner what do you do? The only option is to recover the aircraft. During the glide approach if the aircraft loses lift or deviates by just a few degrees, it will bang into a building,” a pilot with a commercial airline said.
In an incident that came to be known as the Miracle on the Hudson, an Airbus A320 struck a flock of geese while flying out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport in 2009. Using quick thinking, the pilot decided to ditch the passenger aircraft into the river Hudson saving all lives aboard.
The Navy fighter jet, which crashed into a barren patch of rocky land just behind Verna Industrial Estate, also struck a flock of birds and lost both engines.
“If this happens to a passenger aircraft, the plane could crash in Vasco or into a nearby building. We are living with a potential disaster here,” former chief of naval staff Admiral (retired) Arun Prakash said.
Airports Authority of India and the Indian Navy have repeatedly warned of the threat posed by birds which come to forage on the garbage.
19/11/19 Newton Sequeira/Times of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
Experts and official sources point out that if a commercial airliner suffered a similar bird strike with both engines flaming out, the damage to life and property could be significantly greater.
“While a Navy pilot can eject, in a commercial airliner what do you do? The only option is to recover the aircraft. During the glide approach if the aircraft loses lift or deviates by just a few degrees, it will bang into a building,” a pilot with a commercial airline said.
In an incident that came to be known as the Miracle on the Hudson, an Airbus A320 struck a flock of geese while flying out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport in 2009. Using quick thinking, the pilot decided to ditch the passenger aircraft into the river Hudson saving all lives aboard.
The Navy fighter jet, which crashed into a barren patch of rocky land just behind Verna Industrial Estate, also struck a flock of birds and lost both engines.
“If this happens to a passenger aircraft, the plane could crash in Vasco or into a nearby building. We are living with a potential disaster here,” former chief of naval staff Admiral (retired) Arun Prakash said.
Airports Authority of India and the Indian Navy have repeatedly warned of the threat posed by birds which come to forage on the garbage.
19/11/19 Newton Sequeira/Times of India
0 comments:
Post a Comment