Karipur airport unsafe, safety expert had warned in 2011

Karipur airport unsafe, safety expert had warned in 2011

My Warning After M’galore Crash Was Ignored: Says Captain Mohan Ranganathan

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai  8.8.2020

Karipur airport is unsafe and landing should not be allowed here, especially during wet conditions, Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a member of a safety advisory committee constituted by the ministry of civil aviation, had warned more than nine years ago. The crash of an Air India plane on Friday suggests the warning went unheeded.

“My warning, issued after the Mangalore crash, was ignored. It is a tabletop runway with a downslope. The buffer zone at the end of the runway is inadequate,” he said. Given the topography, he pointed out, the airport should have a buffer of 240 metres at the end of the runway, but it has only 90 metres (which the DGCA had approved). “Moreover, the space on either side of the runway is only 75 metres instead of the mandatory 100 metres,” he told TOI.

Ranganathan said there is no guideline for operations on a tabletop runway when it is raining. In his June 17, 2011 letter addressed to the chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Committee (CASAC), with copies to the civil aviation secretary and director-general of civil aviation, Ranganathan had said: “Runway 10 approach should not be permitted in view of the lack of ‘runway end safety area (RESA) and the terrain beyond the end of the runway. RESA of 240m should be immediately introduced and runway length has to be reduced to make operations safe.”

If an aircraft is unable to stop within the runway, there is no RESA beyond the end. The ILS localiser antenna is housed on a concrete structure and the area beyond is a steep slope. The 2011 letter said: “The Air India Express accident in Mangalore should have alerted AAI to make the runway conditions safe. We have brought up the issue of RESA during the initial Casac subgroup meetings. We had specifically mentioned that the declared distances for both runways have to be reduced in order to comply with ICAO Annex 14 requirement.”

He said the condition of the runway strip was known to the DGCA teams that have been conducting inspection and safety assessments. “Have they considered the danger involved? Did the DGCA or the airline lay down any operational restrictions or special procedures,” Ranganathan asked.

CRASH AND BURN: First responders gather around the wreckage of an Air India Express jet, which was carrying more than 190 passengers and crew from Dubai, after it crashed by overshooting the runway at Calicut International Airport in Karipur, Kerala, on Friday

PM, Shah express shock over crash

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed shock over the crash of an Air India Express plane while landing at Kozhikode airport on Friday evening.

“Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” tweeted the PM who also spoke to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan soon after the crash in which two people, including the pilot were killed.

Union home minister Amit Shah directed the NDRF to rush to the spot of the crash to assist in the rescue and relief operations. “Distressed to learn about the tragic accident of Air India Express aircraft in Kozhikode, Kerala ... Have instructed NDRF to reach the site at the earliest and assist with the rescue operations,” Shah tweeted. TNN