Classification of runway accidents

source

According to statistical reports, most of the aviation fatalities occur during the critical phases of flight-take-off and landing. As much as they occur then, incidents are just as likely to happen during departure and arrival as well. Hence it becomes very imperative that the pilots are in constant communication with the ATC and ground control to avoid minor errors that could lead to grave fatalities on the runway.Here we'll talk about two of the most common, yet often mis-understood terms when it comes to runway incidents.

1.Runway incursion

source

Improper positioning of vehicles, ground service equipment and unauthorized personnel on any airport runway or any protected area at airside can lead to a runway incursion.

Classification

source

The FAA has classified runway incursions into 3 broad categories with further sub classifications based on their severity.

1.Operational incident: Improper separation between 2 or more aircrafts or between an aircraft and  ground obstacles-this generally takes place when minimum separation is not appropriately maintained. Clearing aircrafts on closed runways also lead to operational incidents.

2..Pilot deviation: Crossing runways en-route terminal gate without appropriate clearance from ATC is a clear violation of laws and is catergorized as human error.

3.Vehicle deviation: Presence of Unauthorized vehicles/personnel on active runways/taxiways or any area of the airside without ATC approval.

Sub-classification

Ample time and distance to avoid collision. Barely. avoid. collision. Significant. potential. for collision. Little or no risk of collision. Above scenarios are all classified as runway incursions, but with different severity codes. In each case the taxiing aircraft penetrated the runway safety area (hold position)

Based on their severity, it is further sub classified into 5 categories: (descending order of severity)

1.Accident: Collision resulting from an incursion

2.Category A: A serious incident that could have led to a collision but was safely averted.

3.Category B: In this case, the minimum separation is dangerously decreased further increasing the chance of a potential collision which also effectively impacts the time that could be taken for a corrective/evasive action.

4.Category C: This category witnesses an incident taking place that could have been timely avoided had minimum separation rules been followed correctly.

5.Category D: Any incident that qualifies to be a runway incursion but without any immediate safety consequences.

Modern airports are installed with Airport Surface Detection Equipment, MODEL X(ASDE-X) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System(AMASS) to alert ATC controllers of a possible runway incursion.

2.Runway excursion

source

Coming under the category of the most common type of landing accident, runway excursions accounted for about 80% of accidents (between 1995-2007) with fatalities, just a little ahead of runway incursion- according to Flight Safety Foundation. In simple terms, runway excursion is an inappropriate exit made by an aircraft from the runway.

A veer off or overrun off the runway surface-ICAO

Types of runway excursion

1.An aircraft failing to get airborne due to unsuccessful abortion of take-off, hence running out of active available runway. This could be due to miscalculation of take-off speeds, inappropriate weight and trim/power settings, aircraft system malfunction etc

2.A landing aircraft unable to stop before the end of the runway due to excessive touch-down speeds, missed threshold-crossing height, landing weight exceeding permissible values etc

3.A landing aircraft or one taking off may veer off course and depart the side of the runway. This could be due to aircraft systems malfunction, excessive wind velocity with cross-winds or loss of directional control due to aquaplaning

3.Runway undershoot

source

Interestingly enough, there can also be instances when an aircraft "undershoots" the runway. An aircraft is said to undershoot the runway when it lands at a point way before the designated one for landing.

On December 4,2020, a Spicejet flight, registered as VT-SLL and operating BLR-GAU sector, landed before the designated point and undershot the runway. Fortunately no passengers were hurt although this incident did damage quite a few lights on the runway. The pilots were subsequently grounded, pending further investigation.

source

COVER: European Cockpit Association

SpiceJet on Tuesday (August 17) announced it was transferring its cargo and logistics services on a slump sale basis to its subsidiary SpiceXpress and Logistics Private Limited. "The proposed transfer of the business to SpiceXpress will allow the new company to rapidly grow its innovative logistics platform and its unique fulfilment as a service business model," said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, in a statement.

SpiceXpress will also be able to raise capital independent of SpiceJet to fund this growth, he mentioned. He said he was confident that the performance of SpiceXpress as an independent entity will leverage and unlock significant value for SpiceJet and all its shareholders.

The airline's statement said: "The logistics business has been valued at INR 2,555.77 crore based on an independent valuation exercise carried out by the company and the purchase consideration for the same shall be discharged by SpiceXpress by the issuance of shares of SpiceXpress to SpiceJet, subject to all approvals as may be required." It is expected that SpiceXpress will operate as a separate entity upon transfer of business on or around October 1, 2021, it mentioned.

SpiceXpress

While SpiceXpress will operate as a separate entity, SpiceJet will continue to provide certain transportation services, ground and logistics support, management services, sharing and provisioning of resources etc. to SpiceXpress, it said.

SpiceJet said all related assets and liabilities, including, know-how, trademark, licenses, franchises, customer contracts and distribution network of cargo and logistics business would be transferred to SpiceXpress.

As per the quarterly results for the period ending June, the logistics arm continued with its strong growth story reporting yet another profitable quarter with a net profit of INR 30 crore. "The revenue increased by a whopping 285% to INR 473 crore for the reported quarter as compared to INR 166 crore in the same quarter last year," the airline's statement noted.

The logistics arm has a network that spans over 68 domestic and over 110 international destinations including the US, Europe and Africa, it mentioned.

Severely impacted by the second Covid wave, SpiceJet on August 13 reported a loss of INR 729 crore in April-June, 2021 — 23% more than the loss of INR 593 crore posted in the same quarter previous fiscal. This is because the flight operations were severely impacted by the second wave COVID, which saw daily infections crossing 4,00,000 per day.

The airline's freighter arm, SpiceXpress posted a 285% jump in its revenue to INR 473 crore in Q1 as against INR 166 crore reported in the same quarter last year.

Total income rose to INR 1,266 crores in the quarter under review, from INR 705 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. For the same comparative period, operating expenses were INR 1,995 crores as against INR 1,298 crore. On an EBITDA basis, the loss was INR 244 crore for the reported quarter as against a loss of INR 5 crore for the quarter ended June FY2021. The company’s business operations were significantly hit due to the continued impact of COVID?19 which has had seriously impacted travel demand during the quarter ended June 2021.

SpiceXpress has been separated into a new entity

SpiceJet chairman and managing director (CMD) Ajay Singh said he is “in the process of hiving off SpiceXpress… This will also allow SpiceXpress to raise capital to fuel its rapid growth.” Based on the recovery in travel seen post-second wave, Singh said he is “confident that SpiceJet will recover lost ground quickly as we are continuously ramping up our operations adding new stations and flights and are much better placed than this time last year.”

“The company has a negative net worth as on June 30, 2021… deferred payments to various parties, including lessors and other vendors and dues to statutory authorities…. management is of the view that the company will be able to raise funds as necessary, to meet its liabilities as they fall due. These conditions indicate the existence of uncertainty that may create doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern…. management of the view that going concern basis is appropriate. The auditors have included ‘material uncertainty related to going concerned’ paragraph in their review report. The aircraft manufacturer of Q400 aircraft initiated a claim against the company amounting to about INR 320 crore for declarations, liquidated damages, interest and costs relating to the company’s alleged breaches of, and the manufacturer's purported termination of a purchase agreement for certain undelivered aircraft.” - SpiceJet chairman and managing director (CMD), Ajay Singh

The LCC says it is in talks with Boeing to "recover damages” for the grounded B737 Max aircraft. “The company continues to incur various costs owing to the grounding and the inability of Boeing 737 Max aircraft to undertake revenue operations over the last two years now. (Engaging) with aircraft lessors of grounded MAX aircraft to restructure the present leases,” the airline said in a statement.

SpiceJet launched 74 new flights during the quarter. The airline operated more than 300 charters transporting over 52,000 passengers across the globe. Since May 25, 2020, the airline has operated 1928 charters helping close to 3.37 lakh stranded passengers travel to their destinations.

SpiceJet launched 74 new flights during this quarter.

This also included over 25 wide?body charters to Europe & Canada. SpiceJet has successfully vaccinated all its operating cabin crew with the first dose of the Covid?19 vaccine ensuring the safety of its employees and providing a safe travel experience to its customers.

The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of SpiceJet ended at INR 71.90, up by INR 0.45, or 0.63% on the BSE.

The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has announced that four new Interglobe Aviation (Indigo) flights will start operating in Madhya Pradesh from September 1, 2021, with everyday frequency.

In his tweets, Scindia said, “Four new flights of Indigo are going to start from Madhya Pradesh from 1st September."

The new flights will be operating on the following routes -

Delhi-Gwalior-DelhiGwalior-Indore-GwaliorIndore-Gwalior-IndoreGwalior-Delhi-Gwalior

https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1426071030221574144

Tweet from Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia on August 13, 2021.

The ministry further said, "Under the guidance of our visionary Prime Minister the Ministry of Civil Aviation is committed to facilitate the movement of citizens across the country and give wings to their development."

Earlier in July, eight new routes: Gwalior-Mumbai-Gwalior, Gwalior-Pune-Gwalior, Jabalpur-Surat-Jabalpur, and Ahmedabad-Gwalior-Ahmedabad bolstering the aerial connectivity from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra & Gujarat were also flagged off by Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister, Civil Aviation.

The operationalization of these routes aligns with the objectives of the Sab Uden Sab Juden initiative of the Government of India that aims to strengthen the aerial connectivity of the Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities of the country with the metros.

Chances are that the new runway 4 at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport could be wrapped up by October-end, according to sources. After it becomes operational, Delhi airport will become India's first with four runways.

The new runway is 4,400 metres long and 75 metres wide. The third runway 29/11, which runs parallel to the fourth, is a bit bigger. The fourth runway is expected to ease the pressure of a likely rise in flight operations.

The new runway will considerably cut waiting time for flights to land and take off, officials said. This work is part of Phase III-A of the Delhi airport expansion plan. The original deadline for the plan is mid to end of 2022. Work on the runway, stalled due to the second coronavirus lockdown, picked up May onwards and it won't likely take more than three months for it to reach completion, TOI reported.

Delhi airport - Elevated taxiway (Computer generated)

DGCA will inspect the installation of critical equipment such as instrument landing system localiser and CAT-III gear. Another round of inspection will be done after the installation process is complete, after which the go-ahead is likely to be given to start trials. Trials of the runway could start in November 2021, TOI reported citing sources. Such trials usually require several clearances, so the operation could take a few months to begin. According to aviation officials, it is likely that the new runway will be made operational sometime next year.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on August 10 released a passenger travel advisory on Twitter. The advisory clearly states that passengers should check the airfares with the concerned airline rather than on a metasearch engine like Google. The statement came days after an IAS officer complained about the air fee hike close to Rs 4 lakh for a one-way India-UK ticket.

passenger travel advisory by DGCA

Steps to avoid confusion

On August 8, Air India took to Twitter to respond to the complaint by the IAS officer on the Air India fee hike for India-UK one-way ticket due to a drastic difference in the official site and third-party sites. Since the complaint was filed with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, fares were examined across.It was learnt that the one-way India-UK ticket on a third-party site for August 26 was close to Rs 3.95 lakhs.

"Google might have shown fare for business class on that particular occasion due to unavailability of seat in economy class."one airline ticketing expert told 100knots on conditions of anonymity

Air India also Tweeted that the main cause for the rise in India-UK international flight ticket is because passengers those were allowed to rebook their flight tickets owing to any entry restrictions.

Air India clears out the confusion

DGCA also said that the astronomical price difference is confusing the public. On this note, the airlines have been directed to cross-check their fares across third-party sites to avoid bamboozlement.

Change in scenarios

While in the pre-COVID period, Delhi-London economy tickets would cost around Rs 25,000 - 50,000. Currently, the maximum economy airfare for India-London direct flights is ranging from Rs 1.15 lakh - 2 lakh, which is nowhere close to Rs 4 lakh as shown by Google. As per sources, the metasearch engine prices do not reflect anywhere close to the official charges released by the airline. The steep rise in the airline fares is mostly due to the suspension of most scheduled international flights, low passenger footfall due to capacity limitations and air bubble agreements with major countries, as per sources. Unlike domestic fares, international flight fares are based on demand and supply theory rather than government fixed charges.

AIR INDIA EXPLAINS THE HIKE

Possible way out

Owing to COVID-19 disruptions, the only way to bring down the flight fares for international flights is to push up the passenger capacity limit. There are very few direct international flights operating from India under Air Bubble Arrangement with 26 major countries, UK included.