EMAS - keeping planes on the runway

Prashant-prabhakar

28 Nov 2021

Although technological advancements have improved the way safety manoeuvres are carried out, runway overrun remains one of the most probable ones when it comes to runway excursion events.

And growing traffic is only touted to increase it further.

What can be done to successfully arrest landing overrun or perhaps, mitigate it to a safe level?

Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) 

Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) is one such mitigation strategy that can be deployed to possibly dampen the aftermath of such runway excursions. Let's take a look

An EMAS, or an arrester bed, which is typically built at the end of a runway, uses specially engineered materials, defined specifically by the FAA. These materials are high energy absorbing materials of selected strength, which will reliably and predictably crush under the weight of an aircraft.

How does this help with mitigating post landing excursion effects?

The speeding aircraft lands on the runway and crushes the EMAS material along the way. The loss of energy required to do so, in turn, slows the aircraft, thereby arresting its movement.

Runway Safe

It is to be noted that the basic purpose of EMAS is to stop an aircraft overrun with zero human injuries and minimal aircraft damage.

The FAA Advisory Circular 150/5220-22B however, states that EMAS may not be particularly effective for incidents involving aircraft of fewer than 11,000 kilograms weight.

Furthermore, it also states that an EMAS is not to be confused for a stop way, both of which are different in their aspects.

The first EMAS was developed in the mid-1990s by ESCO/Engineered Arresting Systems Corp. (later Zodiac Arresting System. These were made of blocks of lightweight, crushable cellular concrete material, encased in jet blast resistant protection, designed to safely stop airplanes that overshoot runways.

EMAS bed with side steps to facilitate Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) | Wikipedia

Runway Safe AB, a Sweden based firm, manufactured EMAS material out of foamed silica bed made from recycled glass contained within a high-strength plastic mesh system anchored to the pavement at the end of the runway. All the materials used have to be technically accepted by the FAA or have to meet FAA Advisory Circular.

As of May 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been working on developing a harmonized regulation regarding arresting systems.

EMAS is generally deployed in areas where the full RSA cannot be obtained. RSA- runway safety area is a graded area, typically 500 feet wide and extends 1,000 feet beyond each end of the runway. At times, it might not be practically possible to achieve full standard RSA due to the presence of obstacles like water bodies, highways, railroads, and populated areas or severe drop-off of terrain.

A standard EMAS installation can stop an aircraft from overrunning the runway at approximately 80 miles per hour.The tires of the aircraft sink into the lightweight material and the aircraft is decelerated as it rolls through the material.EMAS can be of significant use in table-top runways, where landing during critical situation(s) can be extremely daunting.

A report from MoneyControl had earlier highlighted how the fatal accidents in Mangalore and Kozhikode could have been possibly averted (in 2010 and 2020 respectively), had there been a use of EMAS.

Kozhikode airport is equipped with a Runway End Safety Area (RESA) as per ICAO guidelines on safety. Engineered Material Arrestor System (EMAS) provides safety benefit if less than standard RESA length is available or at Airports where RESA cannot be provided due to constraintsThe then Indian Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said

Tabletop runway at Kozhikode airport

Reportedly, exorbitant rates as high as Rs 100 crores and the fact that it would have to be completely replaced after every runway overrun are some of the factors that act as deterrents.

While it might appear that provision of EMAS is not mandatory in a civil aerodrome as per ICAO guidelines, countries like US, Spain, France and Germany do have it. China and Saudi Arabia are some of the countries from Asia and the middle east with EMAS installed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U_bZVNIy_s

Engineered Materials Arresting System EMAS by ESCO2 | Youtube

COVER: Airport CEO Forum

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HC asks centre and DGCA to respond to a request to eliminate Covid-19 self-declaration form

Radhika Bansal

26 Nov 2021

The Delhi High Court on Thursday, November 25 sought response of the Centre and aviation body DGCA on a plea seeking to do away with the mandatory online self-declaration form, provided under the Air Suvidha App, which has to be filled up by the passengers before boarding a flight that they are COVID-19 negative.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Ministry of Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and Air India Ltd on the petition which said the self-declaration form requires knowledge of technology and a smartphone along with the seat number which is not there with many passengers.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on December 23.

The petition by Sumita Kapil, a practising advocate, sought direction from the authorities to do away with/scrap with the self-declaration form provided under the Air Suvidha App.

The petition, filed through advocate Shaan Mohan, gave instances of various passengers who were not able to board the flight from abroad to India as they were unable to fill their forms on smartphones and submit them online before boarding the plane despite having tickets and negative RT-PCR test reports.

Thereafter, the passengers had to get their forms filled by the travel agent and book another flight due to which they suffered a huge loss, it said.

"The self-declaration form has to be given declaring that the passenger is corona negative which is evident in the RT-PCR test report which has to be produced before checking in at the airports and that report also has the passport number on it then why a form carrying pictures of passport and Covid test report have to be produced at the counter and submitted online when the physical copies can very well be tracked and posted to the concerned authorities."The plea

(With Inputs from PTI)

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INR 90,000 crore investment in the airports' sector expected over next five years

Radhika Bansal

26 Nov 2021

The country’s airports sector is expected to see an investment of INR 90,000 crore in five years, with nearly INR 68,000 crore coming from the private players, a senior official said on Wednesday, November 24.

The civil aviation sector, which was battered by the coronavirus pandemic that had also resulted in the suspension of domestic and international flight services, is slowly on the recovery path and the daily domestic air traffic is nearing the pre-COVID level of 4 lakh.

Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said investments totalling INR 90,000 crore will be made for airports over the five years, starting 2020-21.

Out of the total amount, around INR 20,000-22,000 crore will be invested by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), while the remaining amount of about INR 68,000 crore would be from the private sector.

The government expects to have 220 operational airports over five years and will include heliports. Currently, there are 136 operational airports in the country, and many aerodromes are in the works.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new airport Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, November 25.

Among others, a new airport at Mopa in Goa is expected to be ready next year, and an aerodrome is also coming up at Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra.

Besides, expansion works have been taken up at Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports.

The civil aviation secretary also informed that international flights are expected to return to normal by the end of the year. “Normalisation of international operations is expected to resume by the end of the calendar year,” Bansal said.

The aviation sector was one of the worst-hit sectors by the coronavirus pandemic as international passenger flights to and from India had to be suspended in March 2020 to curb the spread of the disease.

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A320neo aircraft of Air India makes an emergency landing in Mumbai after mid-air engine shut down

Radhika Bansal

20 May 2022

An A320neo aircraft of Air India returned to the Mumbai airport just 27 minutes after takeoff as one of its engines shut down mid-air due to a technical issue, sources said on Friday, May 20.

Air India spokesperson said the passengers were flown to the destination Bengaluru after a change of aircraft on Thursday, May 19.

“The aircraft (VT-EXM) operating as AI-639 was involved in an air turn back after engine number 2 had an inflight shutdown (IFSD) due to engine stall and some other snags,” said a person in the know. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this snag.

A320neo aircraft of Air India makes an emergency landing in Mumbai after mid-air engine shut down

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation is investigating this incident, sources said.

The pilots of the A320neo plane received a warning about high exhaust gas temperatures on one of the engines just minutes after the aircraft’s departure from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 9:43 AM.

With that engine being shut down, the pilot landed back at the Mumbai airport at 10:10 AM, sources said.

"Air India accords top priority to safety and our crew are well adept at handling these situations. Our Engineering and Maintenance teams had immediately started looking into the issue. The scheduled flight had left with passengers to Bengaluru after a change of aircraft."Spokesperson, Air India

Passengers of Air India flight AI-639, which was scheduled to land in Bengaluru at 11 AM, eventually arrived at the destination over three hours late at 2:40 PM.

Air India A320 Neo is powered by CFM LEAP engines and unlike IndiGo and GoAir’s Pratt and Whitney (PW) A320 Neo engines, these haven’t had technical problems.

After induction in 2016, the PW Neo engines faced serious issues such as combustion chamber distress, engine vibration, low-pressure turbine etc, which had led to many inflight engine shutdown incidents.

Air India A320 Neo is powered by CFM LEAP engines

In March, PW announced that the issues with the Neo engines have been addressed. “Since CFM engines have not had technical issues, the focus of the investigation would be maintenance,” said a source.

"In the last two months, there have been one Pratt & Whitney and three CFM engine snags. They all had different issues and were commanded to shut down. It is being investigated closely in consultation with the original equipment manufacturers (PW & CFM),” said senior DGCA officials investigating these snags.

ALSO READ - Spicejet mid-air turbulence – here’s what is known so far

The aircraft (VT-EXM) operating as AI-639 was involved in an air turn back after engine number 2 had an inflight shutdown (IFSD) due to an engine stall and some other snags.

Industry insiders point out this is the fifth CFM engine snag in the last six months. On December 10, 2021, a SpiceJet MAX suffered this snag. Then on April 7, 2022, an Air India A320 and a SpiceJet B737; on May 5 a SpiceJet MAX and on May 19 an Air India A320 neo.

ALSO READ - SpiceJet Boeing 737 MAX safely returns to Mumbai after a mid-air technical glitch

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Almaty - New Delhi flights to be resumed by Air Astana

Radhika Bansal

27 Nov 2021

Air Astana will resume flights between Almaty and New Delhi, the capital of India, on 16 December 2021. The flight will connect Delhi with Almaty three times a week and will start next month.

The airline will operate the route with thrice-weekly flights using Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration.

The departure from Almaty on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays is scheduled for 07:50 with arrival in New Delhi at 11:10. The return flight from New Delhi is timed for 12:20 with arrival in Almaty at 16:40. The flight time is roughly 3 hours and 50 minutes in each direction.

The timing of the flights enables Air Astana to offer convenient connections for passengers travelling from Kyiv, Bishkek, Istanbul, Tbilisi and Baku.

Air Astana had also announced a second service to India – Mumbai – just a little before COVID-induced lockdown. Air Astana had planned to start flights between Almaty and Mumbai four times a week beginning June 1 2020, the peak of the summer season. Unfortunately, the plan suffered due to the suspension of international flights from India because of the pandemic.

As is the norm while crossing borders these days, this service, too, comes with certain requirements. All passengers, including children flying into New Delhi, will have to fill out an online form that the Indian government mandates for all international arriving passengers.

Anyone over five years of age will need to upload the results of a COVID PCR test with a negative result obtained within 72 hours before arrival. Before boarding on departure and again after arrival, passengers will have to go through a thermometric test procedure.

Those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will need to take a COVID-19 test on arrival and repeat it at the end of a seven-day home quarantine period. Fully vaccinated passengers are exempted from PCR test on arrival and home quarantine.

Kazakhstan’s flag carrier has been in recovery mode, reviving many routes in the last couple of months. The airline is keen to expand its network swiftly, from adding London back to its schedule in September using its latest Airbus A321LR to flying to holiday destinations such as Male (Maldives) and Phuket.

Air Astana E190

The airline’s narrowbody fleet is made up of the Airbus A320 family of airplanes and the Embraer E190 aircraft. It also operates the world’s three youngest passenger Boeing 767 aircraft and has an outstanding order of three Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners scheduled for delivery from 2025.

Established in 2001 and operating regular flights since May 2002, Air Astana is the national airline of Kazakhstan and is based in Almaty. Air Astana is a joint venture between Kazakhstan's national wealth fund, Samruk Kazyna (51%) and BAE Systems (49%). From its main bases at Astana and Almaty airports, the carrier operates scheduled domestic service as well as service to international destinations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

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Saudi Arabia to lift travel restrictions on Indians from December 1

Radhika Bansal

27 Nov 2021

Saudi Arabia has announced that it will lift a travel ban on expats from six countries including India that was introduced to contain the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The directives will allow direct entry of fully vaccinated expatriates without the need to spend 14 days in transit outside their countries before entering the Kingdom.

(Image Courtesy - Outlook India)

The Saudi interior ministry has, however, maintained that a five-day quarantine was a must for the entrants, irrespective of their vaccination status, with all measures subject to constant evaluation by the country’s health authorities. The other five countries it listed are Pakistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt and Indonesia.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior issued the directive saying that changes will commence at 1 AM on December 1.

The English-language newspaper said that expats arriving from these countries must spend five days in quarantine regardless of their Coronavirus vaccination status outside the Kingdom.

Earlier in February, the direct entry ban was imposed due to a global spike in Covid-19 cases.

(Image Courtesy - Arabian Business)

The ban covered Lebanon, UAE, Egypt, Turkey, the US, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, South Africa, India, Indonesia and Japan.

The travel ban also applied to travellers who transited through any of the 20 countries in the 14 days before a planned visit to the country.

While flights to and from Saudi Arabia were first suspended on March 14, 2020, travel by land, sea and air resumed on January 3, 2021.

Cover Image - Al Arabiya

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