Kolkata: The city airport has made slight alterations in the SOP on use of taxiways near Wednesday’s accident spot to ensure there is no repeat of the incident that damaged two aircraft.
An airport official said air traffic controllers have been informed to guide planes to taxiway P via taxiway N that takes departing aircraft right to the beginning of the runway instead of allowing planes to enter the runway earlier through taxi track A.
“The accident would not have happened on Wednesday if the Air India Express aircraft that was in front had not turned into taxiway A and instead opted for departure using taxiway P, which is further down. Though the procedure followed had been certified by the aviation regulator, the problem had occurred because the AI Express aircraft stopped well ahead of where it was supposed to hold and the IndiGo pilots were not alert enough to see the imminent danger. While the procedure can be redrawn in light of the incident after the investigation report is filed, we have decided not to allow use of taxiway A for departure, especially during busy hours when aircraft are in queue for takeoff,” said an official.
While the role of the controller and pilots involved in Wednesday’s accident are under scanner, officials said one of several factors contributing to the incident could be the lack of familiarity with the taxi track as that was not as commonly used as some others by departing aircraft.
“Usually, the primary runway is used for flight operations. The secondary runway is in use now because repairs are being carried out on the primary runway,” the official said.
The accident has also made controllers, pilots and the airport operational team cautious about manoeuvring planes and negotiating identified hotspots or potential conflict points on the tarmac while taxiing between parking bays and the runway. “Pilots are double-checking when passing another aircraft,” he said.
Sources said the Kolkata airport ground operations team will scrutinize the SOP on use of taxiway N4 and if it should be become mandatory to divert a departing aircraft taxiing on N4 taxiway to turn left on N3 if the plane in front turns right into taxiway A. Though the AI Express plane, whose wings got damaged after being hit by the IndiGo aircraft, may have halted at the wrong holding point, airport officials said they would look at ways to ensure accidents did not happen even when a pilot makes such an error.
“The investigation report may take five-six months. Till then, operations have to go on and they have to be safe. We are doing everything possible to ensure there is no repeat of what happened on Wednesday,” the official added.