In the wake of a series of runway incidents, occurred in last five days, the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is likely to conduct audits of the airlines involved in the incidents of runway veer off. The regulator has also issued an advisory to the airlines.
We are going to audit the operations of some airlines. The advisory for all airlines is also released, a DGCA official quoted. Aviation Secretary P. S. Kharola met the heads of airlines and asked them to take the initiative to prevent such occurrences. “We are keeping a close watch,” he said.
As per the Air Safety Circular issued on 2 July 2019, the airlines are asked to adopt a stabilized approach, where the crew should be encouraged to go-around during the cases of any reduced visual references to enable a safe landing. The authorities are also asked to make the airline crew aware of the coded lighting system available at the airport.
Moreover, the advisory has ordered the operators to carry out the safety assessments during the adverse weather conditions. The crew should be made aware of the aircraft limitations and take-off/landing performance calculations during adverse weather operations.
The incidents of runway veer off started on 30 June when SpiceJet’s Bombardier Q400 aircraft operating from Bhopal to Surat overshoot runway on landing. AI Express’s Boeing 737 aircraft coming from Dubai to Mangalore also veered off the track on the same day. On 1 July, another Air India Express Boeing 737 from Dammam to Calicut had a tail strike on landing. SpiceJet’s Jaipur-Mumbai flight overshot the runway on the same day. The latest incident occurred yesterday when SpiceJet’s Pune-Kolkata flight overshot the runway on landing.
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