[Peetwo]

AFAP come out firing on YMEN runway 08/26 width reduction -  

Ref:

Back to ToRs on public safety zones around airports??

Reference:

Hayward Executive Airport Safety Zone Policy Overlay - Zone 1 and 2 at Essendon

Doc Gates has plotted out a hypothetical PSA at the end of runway 17 at Essendon based on the slightly less stringent QLD public safety zone/area model...

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Doesn't paint a very good picture for the Govt and it's agencies when you couple that with the SMH picture of the ICAO Annex 14 runway width non-compliances...



...and the Bailey/Ol'Tom disturbing observations -  


TICK...TOCK miniscule, TICK..TOCK indeed!!??  

Via the Oz today:

APRIL 12, 2019

AVIATION

Pilots push airport black-star rating



By ROBYN IRONSIDE

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Pilots will seek to have Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne “black-starred” after a reduction in the width of the airway strip from 300m to 180m.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots is concerned the change amounts to a critical deficiency at the airport, which recently won approval to carry aircraft up to 50 tonnes.

Effective since April 2, the decrease in width was signed off by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority despite an active investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau into the proximity of development to Essendon Fields.

The investigation was triggered by the 2017 crash of a charter plane carrying four American tourists, who died when the B200 King Air slammed into the DFO building after getting into strife on takeoff.

AFAP safety and technical manager Marcus Diamond said the federation’s concerns were exacerbated after learning the DFO building was only 128m from the centre of the runway.

“We don’t have any other airports at 180m that take 50-tonne aircraft in this country and nor should we because it’s going to be downright dangerous,” Mr Diamond said. “These aircraft need 300m runway width strip under all the international conventions. It’s a land grab whether or not they say it. They’ll be able to build more buildings and pretty much choke the airport out completely.”

He said they would seek to have Essendon Fields given a black-star rating at the next meeting of the International Federation of Airline Pilots Assoc­iations in Berlin later this month.

IFAPA compiled a list of “black-star designated” airports or air corridors around the world to alert pilots to potential hazards.

Other airports on the list include Siem Reap in Cambodia, Cebu and Manila in The Philippines and Jakarta in Indonesia.

Essendon Fields Airport director Andrew Nicholls insisted there was no safety issue at the airport. In a letter to airfield users, Mr Nicholls said the change returned the runway to the same width it was from 1972 to 2015.

“This will not reduce safety at Essendon Fields Airport,” Mr Nicholls wrote.

“There will be no impact on the landing minimums.”

A CASA spokesman confirmed that the 180m runway flight strip met the regulations for aircraft using the runway as limited by Essendon Fields.

MTF...P2