Potholes on runway pose risk for flights By A Mid Day Correspondent March 18, 2006
Barely six hours after the Mumbai Airport's main runway was opened for traffic after nightlong repairs, potholes have developed on it akin to any Mumbai road. Around 25 flights were scheduled for landing yesterday. However, there was a delay of 30-45 minutes before the aircrafts could land. An Air Sahara flight had to be diverted to Ahmedabad as the craft was low on fuel and could not risk waiting too long before it could land. The main runway was being repaired after three months. It was closed again all of last night for repairs and then opened today. The night traffic had to use the much smaller secondary runway. On inspecting the runway, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials, the Airport Operators Committee and the Airport Authority of India found that chunks of tar were coming off from the main runway. "An 8x15 feet spot, which was the braking point for aircrafts after landing, had completely crumbled. The DGCA officials have taken samples to be later used as evidence in their report," said an airport source. The disintegrated braking spot could pose a risk of a skid for the nearly 25 aircrafts that land at the runway daily. Another potential safety hazard for the aircrafts was the risk of tar particles getting into the aircraft engines. "It raises questions on the quality of work done by the AAI," airport sources said. Mumbai Airport Director RJ Treasuryvala admitted that there was indeed an engineering problem but added, "Our engineers are on the job and shall repair it." ~(^^)~ Avelino
