Can we have a safer airport in Mangalore?
From Sources by: Victor D’Souza, Doha
Bellevision Media Network
Doha, 01 June 2010: When the plane IX 819 safely took off to sky from Mangalore airport on my return journey to Doha after completing a week long vacation on Sunday morning, I could see my co passengers breathe the sigh of relief. Some of the passengers were even closing their eyes and praying for a safe take off. This kind of feeling will continue for some time, because it is not easy for anyone to forget the crash of an Air India Boeing 737-800 plane that killed 158 people in this airport last week.
Only an inquiry could establish what exactly went wrong as the aircraft overshot the hilltop runway and crashed and plunged over a cliff and into a ravine at dawn Saturday on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Mangalore. Of the 166 passengers and crew aboard, only eight people miraculously survived the crash.
As reported, the plane might have over shot the run way. But if the runway had plain ground ahead instead of the valley the survival rate could have been much more. Also, the fact is that the airport does not have the emergency approach roads on all sides of the airport as required. This was evident during the crash on Saturday morning, when rescue teams could not access the crash site due to the difficult terrain for over an hour after the crash. The local people from the surrounding areas did everything they can to rescue the survivors.
Mangalore airport at Bajpe has been catering the needs of air travelers of coastal Karnataka and north Kerala since over 60 years now. But ever since the crash on 22nd May 2010 this airport has been the subject for debate internationally. This airport was inaugurated in the year 1951 by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, by landing at Mangalore airport arriving in a Dakota plane from Mumbai.
There have been suggestions for shifting this airport to Padubidri during the seventies. Industrial Minister late T.A. Pai proposed this in 1975 as Padubidri is naturally more suitable for an airport with its plain landscape and it is also convenient to the people of northern region. But since the other politicians of that time did not take much interest on this matter, this proposal did not materialize.
As per the records, since October 2006 up to March 2010 about 7,900 international planes have landed and taken off at Mangalore airport. Also, since 2006 up to March 2010 about 31,000 domestic planes have landed and taken off as well. This is the first ever such disaster in this airport.
Mangalore airport has been also distinguished as a table top airport surrounded by deep valleys in three sides. At one side the valley is 300 feet deep, at west side of runway it is 272 feet deep and at east side it is 82 feet. Now, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that the runway will be increased from the present 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet. The airport authority has 580 acres of land and for the extension they will need more 200 to 300 acres of land, which needs to be acquired. We will have to wait and see when this will be completed.
The other facts to be noted in the current facility are whether Mangalore airport meets all the requirements an International airport needs. For a full fledged International airport the ATC (Air Traffic Control) tower should be 125 meters high from the sea level. At present Mangalore airport ATC is 109 meters high. With the increased height it will be easy for the communication between ATC and the pilot. Also the approach radar is essential for the safe landing of flight. This facility will provide the complete picture of airport prevailing the weather condition of the airport and details about the height and speed of the plane.
At present Mangalore airport has 420 meters of approach light system. For an International airport 900 meters of approach lights are required. Approach light system facilitates smooth landing and take off of plane at night and also during cloudy and rainy season. The present the 90 meter long sand arrestor system at the new runway did not work during the crash, so this should be re strengthened also.
Write Comment | 
E-Mail To a Friend |
Facebook |
Twitter |
Print | Comments on this Article | |
| Avith Lobo, Moodubelle/Doha | Mon, June-7-2010, 1:49 |
| Sad to here the news.Nice article Victor.Atleast after this we hope govt. to take some measures to avoid such incidents in future. | |
| A. Sharma Emani, Doha | Mon, June-7-2010, 9:06 |
| As I see in this particular plane crash, the majority of the deaths are due to fire explosion. I am of the opinion that something more should be done to prevent explosion during plane crash. In oil and gas industry, in order to detect and extinguish, floating roof crude oil tank rim seal fires in their infancy, usually foam system comprising number of fully automatic foam delivery modules are used which consisting of two vessels; one containing water and the second one is foam concentrate. Fire detection is normally done by means of a looped line of thermoplastic tubing permanently charged with nitrogen and positioned to detect fires in the rim seal of the crude oil tanks. When fire ruptures the detection tubes the pressure drop triggers the foam discharge which in turn controls fire spreading or risk of re-ignition. I am not aware of the fire protection systems being adopted for aircrafts which carry lot of jet fuel that is highly inflammable. I request experts in this field to enlighten me on this and give their opinion on using similar to above system (used for floating roof crude oil tanks) in aircraft fuel tanks as well, to prevent fire explosions during plane crash. | |
| Robin, Moodubelle | Mon, June-7-2010, 2:18 |
| It was a nice article. I dont think there is any problem in the runway. If a plane overshoot landing, the runway should not be blamed. How long you can extend the runway? If a plane overshoot by 2,000 or 3,000 feet no runway can prevent the disaster. We should concentrate on the safety equipments which can prevent overshooting rather than putting blame on the runway. Airport authorities should install necessary equipments which can detect overshooting or undershooting of the flight when its on air and in a position to take go around. Also the pilot should be trained on the terrain conditions of the airport location. | |
| Roshan DSouza, Kuntal Nagar/Bangalore | Sat, June-5-2010, 5:00 |
| I had to fly to US by Air India on the same evening the flight crashed in Mangalore. When I seeing the news channels in the morning, I was taken aback. Very sad to know that we are at the mercy of the machines that we created for our convenience. may the departed souls in this crash rest in peace. | |
| Cecilia Dsouza, Mangalore/Mumbai | Sat, June-5-2010, 1:19 |
| Air Crash is sad, may be it could have been avoided ???. Indian pilots could be a better option for sure for villages like our Mangalore. Hope, govt. learns a lesson atleast extending the runway / necessary modification on the runway. | |
| Prasad, Palakkad | Wed, June-2-2010, 11:30 |
| Why can t we stop these astounding politicians from asking AAI a public sector undertaking to build airports at improbable locations. They will come up with such damn ideas and when an unfortunate incident like this happens, every one makes AAI a punching bag. The politicians are out to make AAI sick by asking it to undertake huge expenditure on such projects as extending mangalore runway by another 1000 ft requiring huge landfill and subsequently making it a sick industry. NO GMR OR GVK IS ASKED TO DO SUCH OUTRAGEOUS THINGS. In the name of social responsibility AAI is saddled with around 100 airports out of which hardly any are profitable. AAI has built an airport at Mysore at a huge expenditure and no one is prepared to use it. It has an airport at Belgaum and again no one is using it. This wasted public money could very well be used to get better communication navigational and surveillance equipments and add to the safety record of AAI. Hope some honourable MP reads this and takes up the cause in the interests of the travelling public | |
| Ravindra Shetty, Alevoor / Oman | Tue, June-1-2010, 1:35 |
| I wonder why airports do not install a camera which records the take offs and landings of all the aircrafts? If installed these video clippings would have given the vital clues. | |
| Vincent Martis, Mangalore | Tue, June-1-2010, 1:32 |
| Need complete investigation at the earliest. Everything should be transparent for public. Innocent lives are taken away by a wrong decision. No excuse. Complete report is needed. | |
| Philip Mudartha, Qatar | Tue, June-1-2010, 12:44 |
| In our anguish, we may spread the blame too thin and in haste. Accidents of this nature will have exhaustive analysis by National Aviation Safety Board. Remedial actions will come. There is of course the safety track record of AI, though fairly good, not the best. To improve this, there is need for us to develop better skills and change our won mindset of mediocrity to that of excellence. I am shy of of flying AI unless it is the only option. I should not be blamed, because QA/QC of AI services do not meet my expectations of excellence. This is also the case with most Indian institutions, whether in private or public sector. Hence privatization, extension of runway, and modernization of airports may not be the panacea. A holistic approach to reach levels of excellence in everything we do is not in sight, but we can strive for it. Let us begin with ourselves. | |
| Simon Francis Lasrado, sullia/Bangalore | Tue, June-1-2010, 10:41 |
| For all these questions and disaster which killed 158 people, only Aviation Minister Praful Patel has to answer.Where was the urgency to inaugurate this airport in a hurry without meeting all these problems and convert into International Airport? | |
| A. Sharma, Doha | Tue, June-1-2010, 9:52 |
| We should have our own Indian pilots for our domestic flights. Only Indian pilots are familiar with our climatic and geographical conditions and also are sensitive to the Indian needs. It is high time we provide better facilities and better working conditions to Indian pilots to stop them from going abroad towards greener pastures. It is common knowledge that Indian pilots are poorly paid compared to their counterparts in developed countries and also are overworked. It is high time that the govt. looks into these aspects on priority. It is always better to be pro-active than re-active. | |
| Nagaraj Shenoy, Udupi | Tue, June-1-2010, 9:50 |
| I would be interested to know what it would cost to extend the runway by 1000 ft and what it costs for the ministers inaugural ceremony of the new terminal. Important to know if the local authorities have approached the civil aviation ministry for this vital extension or this has only been considered after the tragic plane-crash. Because, so many innocent people have lost their lives only because of the negligence. | |
| Gilbert Dsouza, Belle / Florida | Tue, June-1-2010, 9:48 |
| In most of the accidents and mishaps across globe is attributed to the human error factor. Just because of ones mistake hundreds have to lose their lives. As per the report, the pilot descended at a higher speed and the co pilot was concerned and advised the captain to abort landing and go around, but the pilot was adamant and misjudged his colleagues judgment and took chance, thereby killing himself and other 157 on board. | |
| Veronica, Shirva | Tue, June-1-2010, 8:59 |
| The Air France airbus 340 flight in 2005 overshot the runway and went down the ravine. The terrain was similar to the Bajpe airport overrun area. The difference is all 307 survived the post-crash fire and were rescued. The 158 passengers in India were not so lucky with the rescue effort at Bajpe. Are all our airports capable of quick emergency response and rescue efforts? Areas surrounding the airports are all built up and there is no clear passage for crash tenders to access an aircraft in case of an accident during approach or during a take-off. What needs to be done is to hold the plane within the periphery of the table top in times of crises. | |
| Leena, mangalore/uae | Tue, June-1-2010, 4:17 |
| Well, now a days nowhere in this world is safe. when the time comes wherever u go, hide, no one can avoid anything. This is god s will and this is the reality. So each and everyone should be prepared to face the facts and faith with god. | |
| Thomas D Sa, Moodubelle / Dubai | Tue, June-1-2010, 2:58 |
| As you rightly mentioned acquiring additional 200 acres of land is a difficult task for the government since powerful politicians are owning land around the airport. Hope the aviation ministry will take necessary measures immediately to increase the safety of airport to meet the required international standards thus building confidence of the travelers. | |
| Valerian Alva, Moodubelle / Dubai | Tue, June-1-2010, 2:50 |
| Civil Aviation and Government should do more to make it a safe airport. Now after losing 158 precious lives government has woken up and decision is made to extend the runway. How many more lives to be sacrificed before the project actually takes off. | |
| Ronald Sabi, Moodubelle | Tue, June-1-2010, 2:04 |
| Nice article victor. You have mentioned some vital areas that may need attention. | |
| Ivan Dsouza, Bangalore | Tue, June-1-2010, 1:19 |
| It is really unfortunate that 158 of our people had to sacrifice their lives to increase 1000 ft of runway. Therefore, this run way is very expensive for us. | |
| Simon Pinto, Pithrodi / Sharjah | Tue, June-1-2010, 1:10 |
| Mangalore airport is safe, the recorded safe landings until the recent crash is evident to that. But when it can be made safer like other airports why not do it. I think the focus now should be on taking measures to upgrade it and prevent any future mishap. | |
| Benedict Noronha, Udupi | Mon, May-31-2010, 11:11 |
| Mangalore Air Port is safe and one need not be panicky about it. Even in Santacruz plane accident has taken place. It is accident. Here as it is now learnt, Pilots, errors caused the crash. Run way is sufficient and the Government has taken decisions to provide modern radar and other equipments and also to extend the Run way by another 1000 Feet. Therefore the media may take care not to create fear in the hearts and minds of the People. Death or suffering is God s plans and not as Human beings think or plans. One has to be supplicant to the Almight. Accidents take place even on road travels. Therefore my view is that every one must be fear less and leave the life and matter in hands of God with faith and live a fearless life thanking and Praising HIM for that is we feel and enjoy. He is Great. He knows to take care of every one. Fear kills the Man than any other thing. Give Thanks to the Lord and He will be with you always taking care of you at every step. . | |
| Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle | Mon, May-31-2010, 10:15 |
| Good analysis of the circumstances that led to the disaster following the air crash at the Bajpe airport. | |
Now open at Al Qusais
Weekly e-Magazine
Call : 91 9482810148
Konkani Literature World
