Aircraft missed usual take-off point, ended up too close to wall
Weather, Weight Of Plane Could Be Contributing Factors, Investigations On
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 14.10.2018
The Air India flight, which hit the instrument landing system (ILS) antenna and wall of the Trichy airport while taking off, seems to have lifted off at the end of the runway as tyre marks were found on the soil in the stretch of land between the end of the runway and the compound wall. The plane was at a height of less than 7ft as it crossed the compound wall and a highway before climbing higher.
The airport’s runway is around 8,000ft long and the plane should have been airborne after rolling a distance of 5,500ft. In that case, it would have been more than 100ft when it crossed the compound wall.
Aviation experts and pilots suggest that there could be multiple reasons for the bizarre incident which clearly shows that the plane had a narrow escape. An air traffic control official said they spotted a long spark at the end of the runway when the plane took off forcing them to drive down to the runway end where they found the broken ILS antenna and damaged wall.
Senior pilots say the weight of the plane, temperature during take-off, a possible wind shear or cross-wind (which sweeps the air from underneath a plane during take off) or a technical snag could have been responsible for the plane to miss the usual take-off point.
But, former captain and air safety expert Mohan Ranganathan ruled out weight as a problem since the plane had only 136 passengers, roughly six tonnes lighter than the usual take-off weight rules. “It happened at night and the weather was clear. So that too is not the reason,” he said, adding that everything pointed to a late lift-off was late. The flight radar data also shows the location of the plane was well off the end of the runway at the time of take-off, an AAI official said.
Airports build ILS antennas in a fragile way now so it does not endanger a plane even if it hits it while take-off or landing. “It is unlikely that the pilot did not sense something wrong because the VHF system of the plane was broken, which would impact the Acars (aircraft communications addressing and reporting system), a digital data link for transmission of short messages between the plane and the ground station.”
Ranganathan also said the highway was too close to the wall and posed a safety risk. “There is no buffer space for the runway. That is also a reason why the ILS is installed too close to the compound wall. Vehicle movement on the highway can affect signals of the ILS,” he added. A senior AAI official said there was never a safety issue at the airport as sufficient length of the runway had been provided. “It is a mystery how the pilots can claim that they did not find anything amiss though there was so much damage to the plane. They should have comeback to the airport,” he added.
Weather, Weight Of Plane Could Be Contributing Factors, Investigations On
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 14.10.2018
The Air India flight, which hit the instrument landing system (ILS) antenna and wall of the Trichy airport while taking off, seems to have lifted off at the end of the runway as tyre marks were found on the soil in the stretch of land between the end of the runway and the compound wall. The plane was at a height of less than 7ft as it crossed the compound wall and a highway before climbing higher.
The airport’s runway is around 8,000ft long and the plane should have been airborne after rolling a distance of 5,500ft. In that case, it would have been more than 100ft when it crossed the compound wall.
Aviation experts and pilots suggest that there could be multiple reasons for the bizarre incident which clearly shows that the plane had a narrow escape. An air traffic control official said they spotted a long spark at the end of the runway when the plane took off forcing them to drive down to the runway end where they found the broken ILS antenna and damaged wall.
Senior pilots say the weight of the plane, temperature during take-off, a possible wind shear or cross-wind (which sweeps the air from underneath a plane during take off) or a technical snag could have been responsible for the plane to miss the usual take-off point.
But, former captain and air safety expert Mohan Ranganathan ruled out weight as a problem since the plane had only 136 passengers, roughly six tonnes lighter than the usual take-off weight rules. “It happened at night and the weather was clear. So that too is not the reason,” he said, adding that everything pointed to a late lift-off was late. The flight radar data also shows the location of the plane was well off the end of the runway at the time of take-off, an AAI official said.
Airports build ILS antennas in a fragile way now so it does not endanger a plane even if it hits it while take-off or landing. “It is unlikely that the pilot did not sense something wrong because the VHF system of the plane was broken, which would impact the Acars (aircraft communications addressing and reporting system), a digital data link for transmission of short messages between the plane and the ground station.”
Ranganathan also said the highway was too close to the wall and posed a safety risk. “There is no buffer space for the runway. That is also a reason why the ILS is installed too close to the compound wall. Vehicle movement on the highway can affect signals of the ILS,” he added. A senior AAI official said there was never a safety issue at the airport as sufficient length of the runway had been provided. “It is a mystery how the pilots can claim that they did not find anything amiss though there was so much damage to the plane. They should have comeback to the airport,” he added.
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