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Vijay Mohan
Tribune press service
Chandigarh, June 30
Following a state government plane crash during a night landing on a defense airfield, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) has issued new instructions on the precautions to be taken during night operations to and from a military air base.
A safety bulletin published a few days ago to all aircraft operators by the Directorate of Aviation Safety of the DGAC indicates that during night landings, the visual approach must be favored and instrument landing must to be chosen.
The flight crew should preferably conduct a precision approach using the runway instrument landing system (ILS) and if the ILS is not available, a non-precision approach using final descent in continuous approach (CDFA) must be carried out, indicates the bulletin.
CDFA is a technique for performing the final approach segment in a continuous descent and is compatible with stabilized approach procedures that bring the airplane to a point approximately 50 feet above the runway or to a point where the aircraft should flare just before touchdown.
If the crew chooses to conduct a visual approach at night, the approach must be carried out after passing overhead.
The DGCA advised flight crews to use all available landing aids such as ILS and non-precision approach to support the approach or follow the guidance of the visual slope indicator of approach or the precision approach path indicator until crossing the runway threshold.
The DGCA has asked aircraft operators to take appropriate action on its recommendations, including reassessing operational documents.
In addition, when requesting a runway change at defense aerodromes, the crew must ensure that all requirements for a safe landing, including the position of the runway stop barrier, are met. .
Last month, a Madhya Pradesh government Beechcraft Super king Air B200 plane was involved in an accident while landing at Gwalior Air Base, which is being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board.
According to the information available, the crew had requested a runway change on approach to Gwalior aerodrome. The aircraft was cleared to land, but the arresting barrier at the end of the runway was left in an erected position, resulting in damage to the aircraft.
Military aircraft have stop barriers at both ends of the runway which are used in an emergency to stop fighter jets unable to brake on their own after landing due to technical faults or airframe damage.
There are 23 defense aerodromes in the country to which civil enclaves are attached. While the domestic terminal for civilian passengers is separate and is maintained by the Airport Authority of India, the runway, air traffic control, navigation and security services are owned by the Ministry of Defense.
Civilian aircraft may also be permitted to operate from purely military aerodromes if the need arises.
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