Bristol Airport runway was unsafe
09.01.09
A temporary runway surface at Bristol Airport that caused aircraft to skid was unsafe when wet, a report has found. Four passenger planes were involved in ‘serious’ incidents after landing on the temporary surface between November 2006 and January 2007, while resurfacing work was being carried out, according to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). In a report published today, the AAIB said a 295-metre (968ft) section of runway asphalt, without grooves to help provide grip, ‘did not provide adequate friction for safe operations when the runway surface was wet’.
After a series of incidents involving planes skidding in wet weather, in January 2007 a number of airlines cancelled or diverted flights away from the airport. The airport was eventually closed so that the runway surface could be treated and there were no further incidents after it reopened. But by that time a total of 443 flights had been cancelled and 25,000 passengers had their journeys disrupted – a move estimated to have cost the airport around £500,000 in lost revenue.
The AAIB said there had been no serious incidents until December 29, 2006. There were then three that day and a fourth on January 3. Two of the incidents deemed ‘serious’ were both on December 29. In one case an ATR 72 aircraft operated by Channel Island carrier Aurigny left the runway on landing and came to rest on a grass verge. In the other serious incident, a British Airways CitiExpress Embraer 145 aircraft partially left, and then came back on to, the runway.
The other two incidents both involved the same XL Airways plane – a Boeing 737 – one on December 29 and the other on January 3. In both cases the crew had trouble stopping on the runway.
The AAIB said advice published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) about wet runways was not communicated by the airlines to their flight crews, while information from air traffic control about breaking gave flight crews ‘false confidence in the braking action available on the wet runway’. It also said that Bristol Airport's risk assessment plan ‘had not adequately addressed the hazards presented to aircraft operating on the temporary surfaces in wet and windy weather’.
Bristol Airport spokesman James Gore said: ‘The report relates to four incidents, which occurred under a combination of exceptional circumstances, including runway resurfacing work that takes place once every 15-20 years, heavy rainfall and severe cross-winds.'
‘The airport consulted at length with the Civil Aviation Authority before the runway resurfacing began and engaged the leading expert designers, engineers and contractors in this specialist field. Standard industry practices were followed and aircraft operators were kept informed of the work in progress. Safety remains of paramount importance at Bristol International.’
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