By: Aditya Anand Date: 2008-07-19
Passengers landing at Mumbai airport can now breathe easy as the rubber deposits on the runway were cleaned up yesterday afternoon. The deposits, worn out pieces of burnt rubber from plane tyres, made the primary runway slippery and hampered an aircraft's braking mechanism, which can lead to accidents.
The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) clarified there was no cause for panic, nor was it necessary to keep the airport shut for three days (as reported by this paper on Thursday). It conducted a runway friction test between 11.45 am and 1.45 pm during, which the runway was cleaned of all deposits.
"The main runway (09-27) was closed to air traffic for a two-hour period during, which the runway friction was tested along with other regular maintenance activity," the airport spokesperson said. During the closure, the secondary runway was in operation. "The clean up was to ensure that the required co-efficient of friction is maintained," he said adding that for 30 minutes between 1.15 pm and 1.45 pm, the point of intersection (where the main and secondary runway cross each other) was also checked for any damage.
The MIAL spokesperson added that it would be wrong to say that the entire runway was damaged. "Some parts of the runway had less than the optimum level of friction needed. But consistent checks and repairs by MIAL have ensured that the aircraft braking action was perfect," he said.
Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/jul/190708MumbaiAirport.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment