If appropriate steps are not taken, accident similar to Friday’s aeroplane crash in Kozhikode could occur next at Patna, Jammu airports, air safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said in a conversation with Hindustan Times.Ranganathan explained how table-top runways, the one in the case of the Kozhikode airport, have very little space and therefore require more safety features.
During the interview, Ranganathan, who is a member of a safety advisory committee constituted by the civil aviation ministry, said he had submitted a report around nine years ago, warning that the Calicut (now Kozhikode) airport was not safe for landings.
“There’s a drop of around 70 metres at the end of the runway at the Kozhikode airport, in the case of Mangalore it is about 100 metres. There’s no escape for an aircraft if it overruns,” he explained.
Almost a decade ago, in a letter addressed to the chairman of Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC) and civil aviation secretary, Ranganathan had pointed that the Runway 10 of the Kozhikode airport could be risky for landing in tailwind conditions in rain.
“I understand that Runway 10 ILS is being used on a trial basis at Calicut. Some of the crew are accepting even VOR approach on Runway 10. The reason is the lower minima than Runway 28. However, all the flights that land on Runway 10 in tailwind conditions in rain, are endangering the lives of all on board,” he had said.
He also said that the airport does not have the minimum Runway End Safety Area (RESA)
“The runway strip is just half the minimum width laid down in ICAO Annex 14. This fact was known to the DGCA team that has been conducting inspections and safety assessments during the past several years. Have they considered the danger involved? Has the DGCA or the airlines laid down any operational restrictions or special procedures?” he had written.
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