UNEXPLODED BOMB AT SOU

[shamrock7seal]

some flybe flights diverting into/from Bournemouth today due to the runway closure associated with excavating and defusing the bomb found under a brdige at the end of the runway. major delays and cancelations...

[TCAS FAN]

Runway is apparently closed until 1910 UTC. A mortar bomb (must be a b****y big one?) located about 2-3 miles south of the runway on the shoreline of Southampton Water. Runway 02 in use, which the VOR/DME approach to keeps well west of the bomb site. Over reaction by BAA? Guess I'm going to see BOH today and be late home tonight.

[apaddyinuk]

Im presuming that it is an old WWII bomb and not some nasty terrorist attempt. It amazes me that things like this still pop up some 60 years later. I hope theres nothing under my home still ticking away!!!

[pulse1]

Just advised one of my sons about it and it seems he will be lucky to get home from worktonight. He lives right on the spot. :uhoh:

[PaperTiger]

unexploded 1960s mortar according to the BBC :eek:

Who was fighting down there in the 1960s ? Long way from Salisbury Plain :uhoh:

[niknak]

Runway is apparently closed until 1910 UTC. A mortar bomb (must be a b****y big one?) .

We had a similar instance recently.
An electrician digging out a pit containing various widgits found a small mortar, but not until he'd given it two good thumps with his shovel thinking it was a redundant transformer, did he realise what it really was.
Further delicate digging revealed exactly what it was and the army came to his rescue.

The mortar was less than 12 inches long and 8 inches wide, but the controlled explosion was a sight to see - the disposal technician estimated that it was capable of blowing an articulated lorry and trailer apart.

Food for thought.

[ForestFlyer]

Runway is apparently closed until 1910 UTC. A mortar bomb (must be a b****y big one?) located about 2-3 miles south of the runway on the shoreline of Southampton Water. Runway 02 in use, which the VOR/DME approach to keeps well west of the bomb site. Over reaction by BAA? Guess I'm going to see BOH today and be late home tonight.
Thankfully I was unaffected by this and arrived back in SOU on time.

For the record, the facts of the matter were that the device was washed up on Weston Shore in Southampton and in order for E+OD to deal with it effectively they had to wait until high tide, float it out to the deep water channel in Southampton Water, sink it and detonate it. The area where they did this was a point almost exactly 4 miles down the extended centreline for Rwy 02, and the accompanying exclusion zone and airspace restriction put in place meant that no approaches were possible, not even an offset approach to 02.

As it was, the mortar was successfully dealt with ahead of schedule and the airspace restriction was lifted around 1730.

Which flight were you on TCAS? The longest delays in the end were around 2 hours I belive, and just 2 flyBE rotations used BOH (in ALC/out NCL, and in LBA/out EDI). A few other carriers flights were cancelled with pax rebooked on next available... most later that evening I believe. As I said, thankfully I was not delayed as my flight from EDI (BE787) was not a SOU based a/c affected by it.

[TCAS FAN]

Forest Flyer

I didn't get to see BOH this time, but I was late home, fortunately SOU were still open when I got back.

[eyeinthesky]

If they had it on a 'boat' anyway, why did they have to do it right under the approach to 02? Why couldn't they float it a bit further down Southampton Water and do it there without screwing up everybody else? (Not too close to Fawley, of course!!)

[TCAS FAN]

Eyeinthesky

Amen!

[Groundloop]

"Why couldn't they float it a bit further down Southampton Water"

How about a boat carrying unstable explosives having to travel further therefore extending time of risk to disposal team and increasing disruption to traffic on Southampton Water. No doubt shipping was also halted in the vicinity of the bomb. Diverting the odd Q400 probably less of a problem than delaying a 50,000t ship.

[circlesquare]

Turned out to be concrete... no explosives found.... still, better safe than sorry!