New LHR FOD Radar

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7452075.stm

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As each airliner begins to move, ATC radios "Checker Vacate" and the driver veers sharply off the runway, bouncing over rough grass, to get clear.

Brilliant - sounds like they were using that "anticipated separation" that the yanks are so fond of ;)


:}:}:}

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Typical journalism, eh??

[ZH875]

As each airliner begins to move, ATC radios "Checker Vacate" and the driver veers sharply off the runway, bouncing over rough grass, to get clear.

Then it is a question of waiting until the plane has taken off before turning back on to the runway.
Would be nice if they actually got out of the vehicle to check the tyres before re-entering the runway......




At one point the giant A380 double-deck airliner took off a few hundred feet above the checker vehicle.Do they really need to check for FOD so far underneath a runway

[NeoDude]

I thought the standard phraseology was "Checker!! Hit the dirt!!"?

[Spitoon]

Moving away from the seemingly over-enthusiastic use of journalistic licence, does anyone know if this little gizmo is actually going to achieve anything useful....apart from giving the odd journo a thrill driving 'the wrong way' along a runway?

[Point Seven]

As each airliner begins to move, ATC radios "Checker Vacate" and the driver veers sharply off the runway, bouncing over rough grass, to get clear.

Hmmm, they must have been watching Captain Spunkfarter......:E

And the FOD radar is providing plenty of false alarms. It is very fond of grass returns...

[Gonzo]

Spitoon, ask CYVR: They've had one running for about 18 months I think, and they say it has increased their runway capacity - no longer do they send a vehicle out to the runway and have to hunt around for reported FOD, thus stopping departures, for example, for five minutes. With a FOD detection system, they can send the vehicle straight out to the FOD in a matter of seconds.