Over-run Safety Area Essendon 26.

[Centaurus]

Driving along the recently reconstructed by-pass of the Tullamarine Freeway past Essendon Airport now gives an unfettered view of the airport runways.
In particular there is a magnificent view across the western end of Runway 26 and the proximity of the stopway to the stream of peak hour traffic on the Tulla freeway which passes at 90 degrees to Runway 26. The stopway - if it is such - is grass. Grass is slippery when wet.
It seems to me there is a good case for improving the runway end safety area by having a bed of gravel over which a aircraft must travel before endangering freeway traffic if a high speed over-run should occur.
For example, the following description of runway safety end gravel bed is pertinent. It formed part of an accident report to the Sao Paula Airbus A320 accident where the aircraft over-ran the runway in wet weather, with the loss of most aboard:-

The Engineered Materials Arresting System uses materials of closely controlled strength and density placed at the end of a runway to stop or greatly slow an aircraft that overruns the runway. The best material found to date is a lightweight, crushable concrete. When an aircraft rolls into an EMAS arrestor bed, the tires of the aircraft sink into the lightweight concrete and the aircraft is decelerated by having to roll through the material.

I realise the proximity of the freeway to the end of Runway 26 has been a feature for many years and in fact Runway 17 had a positively lethal drop off into the Tullamarine freeway.

But the thought of a Global Express or similar large jet transport aborting at high speed on a wet Essendon runway should be enough for the relevant airport authority to consider having a hard look at the runway end safety areas in proximity to the Freeway.

Seems a good idea to me and not very expensive. Prevention is better than cure...

[Buster Hyman]

Doubt it would've helped those poor buggers in that house all those years ago...:(

However, I agree that they could've done a bit more whilst they've been upgrading that blasted turn! (Turned a Falcon into a Laser on it one day!:mad:)

Also, I admire what Lindsay is doing with the place & turning into a centre for a lot of things...but I hope he doesn't forget that its primarily an airport!:hmm:

[Centaurus]

Buster. That aircraft (Partenavia) did not over-run runway 26. The cause of the accident was the instructor simulating an engine failure by cutting the mixture control after the aircraft was airborne. The pilot-under-training was unable to control the aircraft although there was some thought that he had mis-trimmed. It was a mighty dangerous place to cut an engine although to this day, mixture cuts on take off still take place during twin training. Just shows that history tends to repeat itself.

The aircraft clipped power lines adjacent to Matthews Avenue and hit a house. The pilots survived but a family inside the house died when fuel from a ruptured fuel tank was ignited by a gas heater in the house.

[Buster Hyman]

Thanks Centaurus. Memory was a bit hazy on the details. Still, a silly bloody place to put houses!

I guess, thinking about it a bit more, there's probably more than enough "litter" between the runway & houses to protect them from an overrun (cars & trucks are another matter). Possibly even the larger jets that use MEB would be slowed somewhat.

[QFinsider]

Centaurus your post is absolutely correct.

The aircraft was not at fault, nor would a splay or overun have made the difference. A long time has passed since I saw the first TV presenter (Mal Walden) interviewing the manager/chieft pilot of the company involved.

History does have a habit of repeating. When I see the encroachment on the runway area at Essendon, I wonder if an aircraft would have the room it needs to escape if operating assymetrically.

Lindsay isn't concerned about aviation at Essendon, the tool wants the land....Ask the tenants at the airport.

[Capt Kremin]

Funny the memories that come up. I remember Mike Willesee being interviewed by someone else who asked him if he had any regrets about the interviews he had done over the years.

He said that interviewing the father of the family that had been wiped out, just after he arrived home to find his house in flames, was his greatest regret. A little off topic but I can imagine why that was so.

[VH-XXX]

Not sure if they have the room for it.

Photo taken 2 hours ago.

http://users.netconnect.com.au/~njah1/ess.jpg

[Centaurus]

Off the original subject of over-run areas - but recollections of that Partenavia prang. The current younger generation at Essendon may not have beern around when a Cessna 402 apparently lost an engine shortly after lift off from runway 35. It was unable to gain altitude and if I recall the propeller was not feathered which made the accident inevitable. The pilot answered ATC's concerns by using his hand-held mictophone which meant he had one hand on the wheel and the other on the microphone. It was thought this may have contributed to any delay in feathering the engine.

The ground slopes down immediately leaving the departure end of runway 35 and this may have contributed to an illusion the aircraft was gaining altitude when it was not. The aircraft approached power lines and in the end the aircraft flicked and went in vertically killing all six aboard after dropping below Vmca with high power on the remaining engine.

It was never established what has caused the engine failure although there was discussion about an auxillary fuel boost pump suddenly operating when it shouldn't have causing a rich mixture cut. The owner/operator was known to favour a "reduced thrust" policy for take off by using less than normal take off power and he avoided practicing simulated engine failures during training on the 402. Instead he used the C310 for this type of training. In retrospect he might have got away with a wheels up landing straight ahead instead of hanging on to full power on the live engine until after the onset of Vmca. One of those tricky situations where it is all too easy to be wise after the event.

Like forking out money for a gravel based runway end safety area on 26...

[Centaurus]

VH-XXX. Thanks for taking the trouble to post that excellent photo of Essendon. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[Buster Hyman]

Nice piccy XXX. Just to the left, (Northern end of field) There's brand new housing going in now. One wonders why people would live at the end of a runway + beside a very busy freeway + under High voltage power lines AND the main rail line between SYD & MEL!!! The mind boggles.

(This was the area that the air ambulance crashed in too, IIRC)

[The Bunglerat]

...The mind also boggles at those people who decide to live right next door to same airport, and then complain about aircraft noise/operations after the fact!

[Outkast]

I know why they live there.

Cos they can't bloody afford to live anywhere else!

The councils or the bodies selling the land and the developers are criminal.
Pure greed!

[Capt Wally]

......great shot of EN "XXX".
I remember the Air Ambo Cessna going in, sad day indeed. It was simply a miss handled eng failure. Like the day the DH104 decided to 'drop' in on some folks just sth of EN some years ago. Had that aircraft been a PA31 for Eg. the outcome might not have been so favourable. At 4 tonnes MTOW the DH104 stalled around 65 kts, that's survivable as long as fire is not invloved. I personally execute all my T/off's using the BFL principal (Balanced Field Length) where possible mainly 'cause the A/C has the ability to climb away on one eng. easily. But I do agree however that a soft surface should to be in place for such overuns. Just one single incident where a soft surface saves the day would be money well worth spent. You can't cover all sitations obviously but something at the end of a rwy for the assitance in rapid deceleration is better than nothing.

Gee the face of EN airport has changed forever. Gone are the days of once riding across the paddocks & leaving our push bikes with the gate man & go sit up on the Obs deck & watch planes come & go & dream as little boys becoming pilots:-)

Capt Wally :-)

p.s.......has anyone had to stop for that new taxiway gate @ EN ?...........

[VH-XXX]

Whilst I was there I also got Moorabbin and Tulla.


http://users.netconnect.com.au/~njah1/mbn.jpg

http://users.netconnect.com.au/~njah1/mml.JPG


http://users.netconnect.com.au/~njah1/tulla.jpg
Lots of planes on the ground!

[VH-XXX]

Not sure which Taxiway gate you are speaking about however they have this relatively new fingerprint reader there to get to airside. If you know what to press from the outside you can enter in any 6 digit number plus a couple of ##'s and 0's and walk right in. You could also scan in any of your own fingers plus your passengers all registered as yourself and they could walk in any time day or night un-hindered. There is no cross-checking of ARN's as far as I know.

[Bevan666]

Not sure which Taxiway gate you are speaking about however they have this relatively new fingerprint reader there to get to airside.

The fingerprint reader disappeared a few months ago. Now you need an electronic access pass, or you call security to let you airside.

Bevan..