CoI suggests new ATC at M’lore airport
The Court of Inquiry (CoI), which probed into the Mangalore air crash incident, has found a number of shortcomings in the airport and suggested to construct a new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the centre of the airport.
The CoI, headed by the former Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal B N Gokhale in his report, has suggested that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) should take up ample measures to improve the airport from the safety point of view.
The team members of the CoI, who visited the table top airport to study after the crash, have recommended that the new ATC should have adequate space to accommodate a meteorological officer to facilitate him to take weather observations from all the sides. “The existing ATC tower has limited space and the location of the tower does not convey clear field of view to the ATC controller especially with the commencement of operations from the new terminal”, said the report.
The panel also suggested that the repeater display of the Area Radar should be installed in the ATC tower at Mangalore airport. “Ideally approach radars should be installed at all airports, but due to cost effectiveness, it is not feasible. However a repeater display of the Area Radar should be installed in the ATC tower of Mangalore which will help in enhancing the situational awareness of the ATC tower controller”, says the report.
The report citied that absence of the Mangalore Area Control Radar was also a contributing factor for the tragedy which claimed 158 lives. Investigation reveled that the ill-fated aircraft was given decent at the shorter distance on DME (distance measuring equipment) as compared to the normal.
Due to the constraint of terrain, the runway 24/06 has a strip width of 150 metres
instead of the standard 300 meters. In order to ensure that the strip width does not reduce further, there is a need to initiate engineering measures, the report suggested.
To enhance the skill of fire forces of the airport, the RFF (Rescue and Fire Fighting) crew should be sent for training on simulators on regular intervals. For this, more number of simulators, large scale aircraft models and training films should be made available regionally.
The CoI also suggested the AAI to take up the issue with the state government to complete the pending painting of water tanks and pruning of trees in the vicinity of the airport. As Mangalore is on top of the hill, it is necessary to build adequate roads outside the perimeter of the airport and stopping of mining and quarrying in the nearby areas, the CoI recommended.
The investigation report also suggested that maintenance of RESA (runway end safety area) at the airport needs to be improved.
