SafetyIssues Personal and Public Safety News Articles: Brazilian Airlines to Avoid Rio Airport During Rains

Brazilian Airlines to Avoid Rio Airport During Rains
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Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 09/03/07 07:20:00
 
The three airlines TAM Linhas Aereas SA, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, and
VRG Linhas Aereas SA (Varig) had received government advisories that the runway
at Rio’s domestic airport gets slippery in rainy weather. Inbound flights will
be rerouted for landing at the Rio international airport instead.
On July 17, a TAM Airbus A320 tried to land in Sao Paolo’s Congonhas Airport
during a heavy downpour. The aircraft somehow skidded off and overshot the
runway, crossed a multilane highway, and then crashed into a building and burst
into flames. Some 199 people died in the accident, including 12 people on the
ground. This was Brazil’s worst aviation disaster, which followed another
accident in late 2006 when a passenger plan collided with a private jet, killing
over 150 people.
Last month’s disaster underscored the inadequacy of the runways at Congonhas
Airport, which are said to be too short to handle commercial jets. The design of
the runways is more suitable for short commuter flights that serve the
country’s domestic market.
Brazil’s airlines have already instructed their pilots that they should not
land at Congonhas Airport at any time without activating their thrust reversers.
Planes have long been under instructions not to land at the Santos Dumont
airport if the thrust reversers are not activated. Rio de Janeiro’s Santos
Dumont airport is also short.
In last month’s crash, the thrust reversers in the TAM Airbus were not
activated at the time it landed. Thrust reversers are used to slow down the jet
aircraft immediately after touching down, but there are instances when they are
not activated.
The runways on the Congonhas Airport were being resurfaced at the time of the
crash, for the cutting of grooves that would drain out rainwater off the
pavement, but the project had not yet been completed.
Just over a week ago, the main runway at Sao Paolo International Airport was
shut down for two months of repairs to improve safety. Grooves will also be cut
into the repaved runway to prevent water from building up on the runway surface
and making it slippery. The Brazilian government is under pressure to improve
safety conditions in airports after the July crash.