Monarch 720 -Runway Damage
Do any recall an incident late 70s early 80s when a Monarch 720 damaged the runway surface on Take-Off. It was a damp foggy morning and during the night resurfacing work had been carried out leaving a slight ramp about half way down across the runway, higher surface being east of the mid-point. Monarch 720 backtracked and departed runway 26, shortly afterwards a light twin on approach to 26 carried out a missed approach and diverted (thankfully ) The AFS crewman carrying out human observer RVR reading reported that the “runway looked strange” and asked to go and look. The departing 720 had lifted the recently laid surface, I guess where rotation started, and it had concertinaed into what looked like, as I saw it, a set of playing cards with some pieces up to about 5 foot high. Runway closed for quite a while for the damage to be repaired! (sorry no photos)