BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – OFFICIALS are urging the appropriate authorities to tighten up the standards at the R. L Bradshaw International Airport (RLB airport) as a result of a serious incident which occurred last year involving a British Airways flight.
According to an accident report on September 25, 2009 the ‘Boeing 777’ took off from R. L Bradshaw International airport from the wrong point on the runway for a plane of its type, at that time carrying 87 passengers on board.
The plane was left with about 1,220m (4,000ft) of take-off room, which was 695m (2,280ft) less than it should have had.
BBC News which reported on the incident said, The Air Accidents Investigation Branch reported that the BA crew mistook one taxiway for another and the plane ended up at an intersection of a runway which was not an authorised point for Boeing 777s to take off.
The report indentified six failings which were: Airport authorities not installing any taxiway or holding point signs at St Kitts, the crew not discussing their taxi routing, the crew misidentifying taxiway Bravo for taxiway Alpha, the trainee air traffic control officer not informing the flight crew they were at intersection Bravo, BA not conducting a physical survey of the airfield and It was the first time the captain and co-pilot had operated to or from St Kitts.
A press release issued by the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) said, the airport has maintained an excellent record of safety throughout its history and the Airport is compliant with all international regulations and standards.
The release went on to state that SCASPA has always moved swiftly to put corrective measures in place whenever a weakness was identified.
“Within days of the incident, self-illuminating taxiway signs were installed on all taxiways. These signs received official approval from a British Airways representative shortly after. Further in-house reviews and training were conducted with Air traffic Control officers, and new communication procedures were prepared for preventing such a situation from recurring. These procedures were subsequently approved by British Airways and then implemented.” The communiqué further stated.
The release further mentioned that SCASPA is pleased to note that since the incident last year September, British Airways introduced a second weekly flight to St. Kitts on March 30, 2010. “This is a clear indication that British Airways is confident that the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport remains safe for all international flights” the release said.
