PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Dublin: 2 x RYR in contact during taxi. Both damaged.
Old 9th Oct 2014, 17:40
  #41 (permalink)  
JW411
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: UK
Age: 83
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Let us first ignore the usual unpromising hysterics who shriek every time Ryanair has an incident. They are all, without doubt, sciolists (one who speaks with fancied wisdom and little knowledge).

I retired some years ago from 50 years of professional (accident free) flying and I was very familiar with Dublin Airport.

I am quite sure that dozens of us were aware that the south east corner of that airfield, after they built runway 28, was an accident waiting to happen. To say that this little corner, even on a CAVOK day, is busy, is an understatement.

In fact, I have just downloaded an IAA Aerodrome Chart (EIDW AD 2.24-1) which has, at the top left hand corner, an insert diagram entitled (in red) "Runway Incursion Hot Spots". This shows the problem beautifully.

In the morning nowadays, departures are made from runway 28 and 34 simultaniously so that part of the airfield can get quite congested. If you want my opinion (and you probably don't) my guess is that the aircraft holding short of 28 was being super-safe and holding back a bit further than normal. The aircraft heading for 34 tried to taxi past but mis-judged his wing tip clearance by about 10 feet.

Now, as an ex-DC-10 captain, I need to tell the great unwashed on this thread that it is quite impossible from the flight deck to judge where your wing tip is within 30 feet or so (see BA 744 at JNB).

What I really would like is for Pprune to go back to a forum for Professional Pilots and stop the idiots from doing anything else but observing.

Finally, my worst experience of the bottom corner of Dublin airport was one night when we taxied out in fog from what is now known as the South Apron.
I was the training captain to our CAA Inspector (who was a bloody good operator). Somehow or other, he missed F1 in the fog and so did I (I was on the radio) and I suddenly realised that he had taxied across Runway 34 and we were on E2 about to enter Runway 28!
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