When all is said and done regarding the findings of this accident, hopefully someone will look at the Halifax International Airport itself and determine that it is woefully outdated and ill-equipped.
Not to suggest that the environment necessarily caused this disaster, but as we all are familiar with the concept of "risk management" ... well there just isn't much of a safety cushion left at an airport with 2 runways with lengths of 8,800 feet, and 7,700 feet. As most of us are aware now, as I pointed out in an earlier post, to achieve the full length of runway 24 a short backtrack and a 180 is required from the intersection of 15 otherwise, you lose 300'.
From an arrival standpoint, only 2 ILS approaches are available at this airport, well known for frequent adverse Maritime weather. Until recently, the opposite ends were served by backcourse approaches, but now runway 06 has a localizer approach (no glidepath). I have often said that this issue must have been one of the many serious problems facing the unfortunate Swissair crew as they were setting up for the backcourse approach for 06. How much simpler their predicament would have been had they been able to couple onto a full ILS.
I find the facilities at Halifax to be quite appalling, especially considering the number of Trans-Atlantics that overfly and keep the airport in mind as an emergency alternate. There have been many over the years, including Concorde, which must have made the crew really sit up and take notice.
Wouldn't it be nice if some of those "Airport Improvement" fees actually went into safety improvement, and not just to build fancy airport tie/jewelry/souvenir/craft/seafood shops.
But I think I'm dreaming in technicolour.