It is quite common for flights to be delayed due to fog. Recently, a video of an Indigo flight also went viral, where due to fog, the flight got delayed by 10-12 hours and one of the angry passengers attacked the cabin crew. However, there are technologies available in other parts of the world that can ensure safe landing of flights even in dense fog.
Recently you must have seen a viral video of Indigo flight. In this, due to a flight being delayed, an angry passenger attacks the cabin crew. After all, this flight was late by 10 to 12 hours and the reason for this is the dense fog falling in North India these days. It is natural for flights to get delayed due to fog. But do you know that there is such technology in India, which can ensure safe landing of flights in dense fog. Then why is it not used here? Let us first understand about this technology…
CAT technology is very useful in safe landing of flights in dense fog. This is a kind of navigation system, which works through radar sensors installed on the runway and contact with the aircraft. In this, the airplane has a direct connection with the radar system of the runway, through which the pilot gets information about landing the aircraft on the runway, the condition of the runway and keeping it in the correct position. However, for this it is very important for the pilot to be trained.
CAT-3 available in Delhi-Kolkata
At airports that do not have CAT on their runways, landing a plane in fog or very low visibility is a difficult task. Although this facility is available in Delhi. But this is insufficient for Delhi's air traffic. CAT-3 technology has the best capacity in India. It is present on just two runways of Delhi. This facility is also available at Kolkata Airport. Due to heavy air traffic in Delhi, many times the plane is sent to Lucknow, Bhopal or Jaipur. Well, there are many categories of CAT system…
CAT-1: General visibility should not be less than eight hundred meters and runway visibility should not be less than 550 meters. While deciding to land, the altitude should not be less than two hundred feet.
CAT-2: Visibility on this runway should not be less than 350 meters. Similarly, the decision height cannot be less than 100 feet.
CAT-3: This runway comes in the highest category. Its technology is very excellent. Landing on these is easy even in fog and very low visibility. This is also divided into three categories. These are called CAT-3A, CAT-3B and CAT-3C respectively. Skilled pilots can easily land the aircraft on such runways even with visibility of 50 meters.
Pilots undergo special training for CAT-3
Pilots have to undergo special training for runways equipped with CAT-3. This training is in accordance with international standards. Its certificate is also available. Trained pilots are able to land the aircraft efficiently not only in fog or low visibility but also in stormy rain and adverse weather conditions. Such pilots are able to land the aircraft efficiently on CAT-3 runways through auto pilot mode, ground equipment and instrument landing approaches.
Not every pilot can get training
To undergo training for landing on CAT-3 runways, the chief pilot must have at least two and a half thousand hours of flying experience. Similarly, the co-pilot is also required to have five hundred hours of experience. Pilots are considered eligible for CAT-3 training only after completing three hours of CAT-2 training. For the training of CAT-2 and CAT-3, there is a course on All Weather Operations, which the pilot has to do. According to the Chamber of Trade and Industry, only five percent of pilots in the country are trained for CAT-3 runways. The organization has demanded that as many pilots as possible should be given its training.
50 lakh rupees monthly maintenance
The cost of integrating the CAT-3 system with the runway is around Rs 10 crore. Whereas its maintenance cost also goes up to Rs 50 lakh per month. However, gradually this system has been installed in many major airports of the country including two runways in Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow.
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