SINGAPORE : A Singapore Airlines plane which was about to land had to pull up again and move into a circling pattern in order to avoid hitting another plane on the runway.i think that its absolutely sensationalising! things like this happen almost everyday! in London Heathrow it happens an average of at least once a day!
The incident happened at Changi Airport on Friday when the plane was flying back from Tokyo.
The plane then circled for about 15 minutes before making a landing.
The pilot had announced to passengers that the other aircraft "was too close" and he "had to take off again to avoid any incident," recounted one passenger.
Responding to a query from MediaCorp's TODAY newspaper, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) clarified that safety was not compromised and no procedures were breached during the landing of SQ11.
CAAS said: "When the aircraft was about 2km from touchdown, Changi Control Tower controller who was monitoring the landing decided to instruct the aircraft to do a go-around because there was a preceding arrival which was slow in vacating the runway. This is a standard procedure of air traffic control to ensure safety of aircraft operations, in this case to keep the two aircraft well apart. There was no error on the part of the pilot or the controller."
An SIA spokesperson said: "When the go-around was initiated, there was ample separation between SQ11 and the other aircraft. And at 500 feet, this procedure can be done safely without compromising safety. This is a normal manoeuvre and pilots are thoroughly trained in the execution of a go-around."
the SIA flight was on 1DME final where the tower needed to give a landing clearance and the leading aircraft wasn't quite off the runway, so the tower exercised judgement and sent the SIA aircraft around. its textbook stuff!
any 2 planes must be at least 2Nm apart at all times. the minimum separation is 1 runway's length or 2400m if the reduced runway separation is in use. these are ICAO standards, so i don't see a problem there. seperation shouldn't be an issue.
i suspect Changi may have a strict rule making it COMPULSORY to give a landing clearance by 1DME or issue a go-around. it's preferrable to give a landing clearance by 1DME but Heathrow frequently clears approaching aircrafts to land between 0-0.5DME.
with given spacings that is as little as 2.5Nm, it is simply not possible to issue a landing clearance at 1DME since the leading aircraft would only have crossed the threshold 30-40sec before and certainly still rolling on the runway.
the most efficient ops is achieved when arrival spacing is equals to the leader runway occupancy plus whatever landing clearance margin the follower needs. so the tower should clear the aircraft to land at a minimum margin from the threshold when the leader vacates the runway.
depending on the airport and its operating procedures, a standard 3Nm gap is about 70-80sec, 4Nm = 90-105s, 5Nm = 115-130s. different aircraft type pairs have different speed profiles so there is always a range. runway occupancy depends on the config. of the runway, where the exits are, what types of exit, decceleration and speeds of the aircraft and crew familiarity with the aerodrome, which is usually the problem. which is why like i said, go arounds at London Heathrow average about 1 a day. things like this happening is really no big deal.
but of course it's a very costly thing to do - the fuel needed and the delays to other aircrafts due to the domino effect of lost slots etc. so the tower does everything it can to minimise the likelyhood of one happening while ensuring safety.
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Military in Iraq tags U.S. airlines
Carriers now prohibited from flying into country would augment transit missions
Paul J. Caffera, Special to The Chronicle
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
If the military gets its way, U.S.-flagged air carriers soon may be allowed to fly into Iraq.
Since October 1996, aircraft registered in the United States have been prohibited from operating in Iraq by the Federal Aviation Administration's Special Federal Air Regulation Number 77. U.S. aircraft have only been permitted to make overflights at altitudes exceeding 20,000 feet.
Since the run-up to the war in Iraq, U.S. airlines have played an integral part in moving personnel and material overseas for deployment in Iraq.
An estimated 90 percent of the people, and about half of the equipment, deployed to Iraq flew to the region aboard commercial airlines.
From the beginning, those flights ended at locations near to but outside Iraq. But now, the Defense Department would like U.S. carriers flying for the military to fly into the country.
"U.S. Transportation Command is currently working with the FAA to finalize an arrangement to allow Defense Department commercial operations inside Iraq," said Lt. Col. G.P. "Cliff" Mirabella, a spokesman for the command, a Pentagon agency that coordinates transport operations. "Right now, the focus is on cargo flights. Passenger flights would depend on our success with cargo missions."
Maintaining a fighting force of more than 100,000 service members halfway around the world takes enormous airlift capacity. And the recent increase in troop levels is putting even greater stress on an already strained system.
According to the Air Mobility Command, a division of the Transportation Command, in the 18-month period ending April 6, Air Force transport planes flew 35,980 sorties to and from Iraq and Afghanistan and an additional 26,402 within Iraq. Being able to use U.S.-flagged carriers for flights into Iraq would lessen the load on the military-transport system.
The final decision on whether an airplane registered in the United States may fly to or within Iraq rests with the FAA. "The safety and security of the airspace and aircraft is our concern," said agency spokesman Hank Price.
When asked when the FAA might act on the military's request, Price said he would have to make inquiries to find out. He did not respond by late Monday.
Despite frequent attacks on aircraft operating in Iraq, Price said, "waivers (to regulation 77) have been approved for private operators conducting U.S. government missions." Four such waivers were granted between March and July last year.
Even if the FAA allows U.S. airlines to operate in Iraq, the issue of war-risk insurance may decide whether any carriers seize the opportunity.
Currently, U.S. aircraft lose their FAA-sponsored war-risk insurance if they fly in Iraq under a waiver of regulation 77.
David Castelveter, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association, an industry group representing the nation's largest airlines, said Monday that ATA's member airlines would not fly into Iraq without insurance.
Still, since most of the military charter flights are being made by non-ATA carriers, there may be enough to meet Pentagon needs, even without insurance.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/08/MNG6FPMR6S1.DTL
Well written and interesting
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