Fifty years of Civil Aircraft Accident Data shows that 40% of all runway overruns, undershoots and failures worldwide incurred fatalities, highlighting the need for masts that break on impact on busy runways.
A year on from the devastating runway crash that killed 44 members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice-hockey team, UK fibreglass approach mast manufacturer Pollite is reminding Russian airports of the importance of having frangible masts installed on runways, at a time when the country is set to undergo a major airport build.
A MAK investigation into the Yaroslavl disaster found that the Yak-42 plane carrying the team failed to take off and overran 400 metres into the runway end safety area before taking to the air. Shortly after taking off, the plane rolled to the left, and struck a navigation beacon mast before crashing to the ground. Had the mast been manufactured to frangibility standards outlined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the impact of the collision would not have been so devastating.
Fifty years of Civil Aircraft Accident Data shows that 40% of all runway overruns, undershoots and failures worldwide incurred fatalities, highlighting the need for masts that break on impact on busy runways.
Pollite’s stark reminder comes at a time when Russia is poised for a major airport redevelopment which will see 60 airports built in the country over the next four years. As part of the plans, Russia’s biggest airport hub, Moscow Domodedovo is set to be transformed into one of Europe’s leading airports.
Owned and operated by the private sector DME Group, passenger traffic at the airport has soared from 3.8 million in 1998 to 15.7 million in 2011, with the rest of Russia’s airports reporting similar numbers of growth. As the nation’s airports welcome even more visitors and depart many more flights, it is imperative that runway masts are frangible enough to ensure that when collisions do happen, runway masts break, distort or yield on impact, keeping damage to aircraft at a minimum.
Adrian Harrison, Managing Director of Pollite said: “As Russia goes through a heavy period of airport builds, the memories of last year’s Yaroslavl disaster act as a stark reminder that runway safety needs to be carefully considered.
“Our product is manufactured to very high frangibility standards and we spend a lot of time testing them to ensure they meet with both ICAO and FAA standards, to ensure that when runway take-offs don’t go to plan, aircraft suffer minimal damage.”
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