Another suit involving that newfangled and unproven experimental grooved runway technology:
A pair of incidents where United Express flights left wet runways at Ottawa’s main airport caused more than $10 million in damage to the two planes, according to the airline, which is suing the federal government, Ottawa International Airport Authority and air traffic controllers in an effort to recoup their losses.
Trans States Airlines and its insurance company have filed separate lawsuits alleging Transport Canada, the airport and Nav Canada were negligent in a June 2010 runway overrun and a September 2011 incident where a plane skidded off the side of a runway.
In the lawsuits, the airline alleges the runways didn’t meet Canadian and international standards because they failed to provide good friction when wet. They also allege that their pilots received inadequate warnings about the weather conditions and state of the runways.
The TSB also noted that Trans States Airlines didn’t provide its pilots with information or adequate training about landing on ungrooved runways in Canada. Grooved runways help to reduce hydroplaning and remove standing water. There are no requirements that runways be grooved in Canada, although grooved runways are common in the United States.
In the meantime, Ottawa’s airport has undergone major upgrades. Runway 07/25 has since been grooved, and runway 14/32 will be grooved next year once new asphalt applied this summer has properly cured. Ottawa is the only major airport in the country to have grooved runways.
Ottawa airport sued over damage to planes that ran off runways | Ottawa Citizen