Dead Jackal on Runway Delays Flights
NEW DELHI: At a time when the Ministry of Civil Aviation is observing the Air Safety Week, a major disaster was averted at the IGI airport on Tuesday night after the body of a jackal was found on the primary runway.
According to airport sources, operations on the main runway had to be suspended for 25 minutes after a landing aircraft reported that the remains of a jackal were lying on the runway. Officials said that the pilot of a Jet Airways flight that landed at 9.33 pm informed the air traffic control (ATC) immediately on landing that it had spotted a jackal on the Dwarka side of the main runway. The runway was closed with immediate effect for cleaning up.
The incident took place during peak hours and non-availability of the main runway for landing caused major upsetting of flight schedules. The jackal was probably killed by an Indigo aircraft that had landed about 9.30 pm.
Pilots have been complaining frequently that the runway at Delhi is often used like an ordinary road where people and vehicles keep crossing at will. "The landing aircraft was extremely lucky that no untoward incident took place. The greatest effort has to be made to keep the runway clear for landing and taking-off aircraft. Had the animal come in the path of the aircraft, it could have caused great damage to not only the aircraft but could have an accident was also possible," said the pilot of a private airline.
According to the ATC, simultaneous use of runway was on when the incident was reported. "Take-offs were taking place on the secondary runway so only arrivals were affected. An American Airline flight that was scheduled to land next was asked to do a go around till the runway was cleared," said an official.
However, it was apparent that schedules had been upset massively since simultaneous use of runway, that normally stops at 10 pm, went on till about 12.30 am. "The congestion was huge in the 25 minutes that landings could not take place. Therefore we had to extend time for simultaneous use till things could be brought back to schedule," said an ATC official.
The responsibility of keeping the airside clear of animals rests with the Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL). Officials said that they had taken precautions to prevent entry of animals onto the airside but did not know how this particular jackal got in.
"We are extremely conscious of safety measures but we can't comment on specific issues. Incidents do take place inspite of our best efforts," said Vijay Vancheshwar, head of corporate communication, DIAL.