In a major move aimed at enhancing aviation safety at airports across the country and preventing accidents such as the Mangalore crash, the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to extend the runway end safety area (RESA) beyond runways at its airports from the current 90 metres to 240 metres. The initial focus will be on elongation of the RESA at the 11 “critical” airports in the country, including Mangalore and Kozhikode. Top AAI sources told this newspaper that the elongation of RESA could cost about `30 crores per airport.
The AAI is consulting aviation experts in the United States currently and is assessing the type of material that should be used for elongation of the RESA. The RESA essentially comprises of soft ground arresters (SGAs) — a special type of sand-like material with gravel — that is capable of stopping the movement of aircraft at high speed within 30 metres. The SGAs are capable of arresting the aircraft movement effectively since the aircraft tyres sink into the SGAs, bringing the aircraft to a rapid halt without damage to the airframe of the aircraft.
“The increase in the RESA from the current 90 metres to 240 metres is being planned and discussions are on for this,” top AAI sources told this newspaper on Saturday. Acquisition of the SGAs is also very expensive and sources said the financial implications of the move are being assessed. The AAI is hoping for a financial grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), AAI sources said.
As the United States’ Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) puts it, the SGA “deforms readily and reliably under the weight of an over-running aircraft and the resulting drag forces deceleration of the aircraft to a safe stop”.
The 11 airports identified as “critical” airports by the government are Leh, Kullu, Shimla, Port Blair, Agartala, Lengpui, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Jammu, Patna and Latur. Sources said the DGCA has informed the AAI that it would be advisable to elongate the RESA to 240 metres at all critical airports at the earliest. But one problem that may face the AAI, especially at some of the critical airports, is availability of adequate land for elongation of the RESA.