After Air India crash, Bhubaneswar airport to hold emergency mock drill on June 30
The airport's operational facilities and preparedness to handle any emergency situation was checked on Friday by the BPIA's safety review committee consisting of heads of various stakeholder departments.
'This mock drill has been planned to enhance our preparedness to handle any untoward incident. Medical staff, Odisha Fire and Emergency Service personnel, police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and others will participate,' BPIA Director Prasanna Pradhan told The New Indian Express.
He added that while aircraft emergency handling mock drills are mandatory and BPIA has been doing it regularly, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has instructed it to conduct the exercise again.
Aircraft emergency handling involves a series of coordinated steps to ensure the safety of passengers and crew in various emergency situations from in-flight problems to forced landings and evacuations. It includes maintaining situational awareness, communicating with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and following established emergency procedures outlined in the aircraft's operating manual.
Apart from the mock drill, BPIA will update the airport emergency plan (AEP) that outlines procedures to respond to emergencies. The document defines roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders and establishes communication protocols.
While BPIA readies for the mock drill, its officials said birds, tall trees and unauthorised structures around the airport continue to be a cause of serious concern. With the airport situated in the city, bird activity persists as they are getting food to eat and places to nest.
As per the guidelines, within a 10 km radius of an airport, certain activities are restricted to ensure aviation safety and minimise environmental impact. These restrictions include prohibitions against animal slaughter, disposal of animal remains, garbage dumping and others. However, various food stalls and fish market around the airport are attracting birds to the area. This apart, bird nesting is taking place at a coconut farm on the premises of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT).
Sources said BPIA officials will flag multiple obstacles like unauthorised structures, water tanks and tall trees, which are threats to flight movement, to Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Mock exercise conducted at Jeypore airport
Koraput: As part of the mandatory safety preparedness protocol and in compliance with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines, a full-scale emergency mock exercise was conducted at Jeypore airport on Friday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The aim was to assess the airports emergency response capabilities, inter-agency co-ordination, communication efficiency, resource deployment, and effectiveness of the airport emergency plan (AEP), said Abakash Parida, airport director. Such mock drills are held once every two years to ensure all stakeholders are prepared to handle real-time emergencies, he added. According to Parida, the scenario simulated a crash of an aircraft on the airport premises. The airports fire and rescue team was the first to respond followed by reinforcement from the city fire services and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF). The joint teams worked in tandem to extinguish the simulated fire and carry out rescue operations. A triage area was set up by the medical team to assess and classify victims based on the severity of injuries. Minor injuries were treated on-site while seriously injured persons and casualties were promptly transported to the district headquarters hospital through ambulances, said Parida. During the mock exercise, police played a critical role in crowd control, managing relatives of the passengers, and facilitating a green corridor for seamless ambulance movement. Following the drill, a debriefing session was held with all participating agencies to analyse the operations and identify any gaps or shortcomings in the rescue process. The mock exercise was conducted in a well-coordinated manner, demonstrating strong collaboration among the airport authorities, emergency responders, and local administration, said Parida.
NDTV
13 hours ago
- NDTV
No Fault With Boeing Fuel Control Unit: US Aviation Body On Air India Crash
Oshkosh, Wisconsin: The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday the fatal crash last month of an Air India Boeing 787 jet does not appear to have been caused by a mechanical issue or inadvertent movement of the fuel control unit or switches. "We can say with a high level of confidence is it doesn't appear to be a mechanical issue with the Boeing fuel control unit," Bryan Bedford, the FAA's administrator, told reporters on the sidelines of an air show in Wisconsin. He said FAA employees had taken the units out, tested them and had inspectors get on aircraft and review them. "We feel very comfortable that this isn't an issue with inadvertent manipulation of fuel control," he said. The probe into the Air India crash, which killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, is focused on the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 jetliner. Boeing and Air India did not immediately comment. The switches control fuel flow to aircraft engines, allowing pilots to start or shut them down on the ground, or manually intervene during in-flight engine failures. Air India said on Tuesday it has completed precautionary inspections of the fuel control switch locking mechanism on all 787 and 737 aircraft, with no issues detected. A preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau earlier this month found the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from "run" to "cutoff" shortly after takeoff, causing the engines to lose power. Reuters reported last week, citing a source, that the cockpit recording on the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick suggested the captain cut fuel to the engines. Earlier this month, the FAA and Boeing privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes were safe.
Hans India
13 hours ago
- Hans India
Air India Crash Not Caused by Mechanical Problem, Says FAA
The top officer of America's flight safety group (FAA) said the big Air India plane crash last month was not caused by a machine problem. The crash happened just after takeoff. It killed 241 people on the plane and 19 people on the ground. The FAA checked the fuel control system on the Boeing 787 plane. This system controls fuel to the engines. They said it worked well and that there was no mistake with the fuel switches. These fuel switches are used by pilots to start or stop engines. They also use them in case of engine trouble. A report from India said that both fuel switches moved to 'cutoff' by accident right after takeoff. This made the engines stop working. Another report said that the pilot may have turned off the fuel by mistake. Air India checked all its other planes and said they are safe. Boeing and Air India have not made public comments yet.
