Debris on AKL Runway
 

Does anyone know more about this?

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-z...intenance.html

it apparently caused a diversion (amongst others) of a Singapore Airlines A380 to a nearby military airbase (Ohakea).

Debris on a runway is a fairly common problem at large busy airports, but usually involves aircraft components, dead birds etc. and does not involve an interruption to operations of more than a few minutes. Exceptions to "routine" debris calls would be significant aircraft components (turbine disc, blades, engines, control surfaces etc.) or parts of the runway itself. If the runway surface is damaged, repair operations could take quite some time.

Let's hope that there is no significant interruption to operations.

Cheers,
Grog

Thank you Grog. I thought that this was a very rare occurence - the crash of Air France Concorde Fight 4590 came to mind.

No reasons for the incident have been reported, just a rumour of possible loose caulk, but no confirmation. I also could not understand that the press said no 'jet flights' were affected, but 6 incoming turboprop flights were diverted (plus the A380) and four outbound turboprop were delayed, plus re-scheduling. How can 'jet flights' not be affected with their longer tak-off and landing runs and not turboprops? Perhaps it's a case of don't always believe what you read in the papers!

Might it be the schedule at that time of day?

Update
 

This issue is becoming clearer now (and continuing) although I suspect from reading a press article today you guys at the front end flying in and out of AKL probably know about it already. What is most concerning is that NZALPA have reported loose chunks of concrete 30cm x 30cm x 12cm are being seen.

Here is the link:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12306688

Quote from article: "This is extremely worrying news as runway debris can cause a range of issues for aircraft, such as a punctured fuel tank or engine failure. We are dealing with a very serious situation here and one that the airport company has been aware of for a very long time,'' said NZ Airline Pilots Association (NZALPA) president Andrew Ridling.He is calling for an urgent escalation of steps to fix the problem and Government intervention if necessary.

"NZALPA's focus is safety - we make no apologies for that. We can no longer stand aside and wait for the right thing to happen. We have moved past that point," said Ridling a Boeing 787 captain.

He said in a worst case debris on the runway could lead to a tragedy similar to the Concorde crash in 2000 where a metal part from another plane on the runway at Paris ruptured a fuel tank in the supersonic aircraft.

Overnight the International Federation of Air Line Pilots sent out a safety bulletin warning its members to ensure they have contingencies for operating at Auckland.

RW Breakup
 

Happened at Tirana too in the 90’s where the hexagonal blocks laid by the Chinese contractor lifted and exposed loose stones.
This was especially the case at the takeoff point and turnoffs. The taxiways were dreadful with pot holes filled with stones.
People continued to operate - one lot sent in BA-146 instead of MD-80 due to the engine positioning...

A quick and dirty fix is done by someone with a barrow and some melted pitch 'crack filling'. This can work reasonably well as a temporary fix, but in hot weather and when someone vents kerosene onto the pitch it can melt rapidly and cease to hold the broken surface in place. Low hanging engines that blast the poorly repaired surface with their jet wash don't help.

And Auckland has indeed been having some very hot weather recently (shade air temperatures don't look high to people used to real heat, but direct heating from the sun is just what you'd expect from the latitude).