Never mind the GPS, these guys took the localizer.
Folks, you can't make this stuff up...
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Theft of equipment hampers flights at Mumbai
From Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, Dec 17 (IANS) Flights to and from India's commercial capital were delayed by almost an hour for the past few days after air traffic control equipment was stolen from the city's airport, officials said Friday.
They said flights landing at Mumbai airport have had to make do with visual contact after a "localiser", part of the Instrument Landing System, was stolen Tuesday from the main runway.
Instrument Landing Systems are primarily used when visibility is poor due to fog.
The Mumbai airport, which handles 30 percent of the country's air traffic, was forced to divert flights to Ahmedabad and other airports during peak hours due to poor visibility, officials said.
On Friday alone, 30 international and domestic flights were delayed by several minutes, they said.
Though police questioned several airport employees and residents from slums along the runway, no headway was made in tracing the thieves.
Police are baffled as the theft apparently took place in broad daylight. No one noticed the thief walking away with the equipment.
http://www.eians.net/2004/12/17/17theft.html
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Absence of "localiser" upsets flight schedule :
Mumbai, Dec 16 : Flights into and out of Mumbai continued to be delayed for the second day today due to non-availability of the "localiser", an integral component of the Instrument Landing System (ILS), on the main runway-27.
The localiser, which guides the aircraft to the centre line of the runway, was found stolen around 1730 hrs on Tuesday, AAI regional executive director S R R Rao said adding a localiser was being fabricated and should be installed by tomorrow.
"The localiser, antenna rods made of aluminium which radiate electronic waves and forms part of the ILS, hardly has any material value and we are surprised that this could have happened", he said.
Flights were today delayed by 30 to 45 minutes because of delayed arrivals and stacking up of flights over the city.
At a meeting here today, the Central Industrial Security Force, which is guarding the airport, has been asked to keep a vigil on the technical equipment also as a large number of temporary labourers work in the operational area during the day, an official said.
Rao said the flights were being delayed because depending on the wind conditions, runway-09 or runway-14 was being used due to non-availability of the main runway. PTI
http://www.teamindia.net/news/index...llnews&id=44749