2012-07-11

Retired Pilot : Dangerous for Landing & Departure on third runway

Dangerous for Landing and Departure on third runway
Too Many Mountains & 1962 ft Castle Peak
Number of Tourists already Exceed HK’s Capacity
Stop Unlimited Expansion of Private Aircrafts and Narrow-body Aircrafts

退休外籍機師Jan Bochenski 指出第三條跑道安全成疑

退休外籍機師Jan Bochenski 指出第三條跑道安全成疑

About a month ago, the Project Profile of the Expansion of Three Runway System submitted by the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA) found no favour before the Environmental Protection Department (EPD). Therefore HKAA has submitted supplementary information to EPD with a public consultation ended on 13th July this Friday. We, Green Sense, will again write comment to EPD and request an internationally qualified professional of aviation to assess the risk of air crash and related damage imposed by the third runway and the surrounding mountains of Tai Lam Chung, Castle Peak and Tai Mo Shan.

There is serious concern over the prevailing constraint on airspace for civil aviation and possible safety hazards since HKAA launched the Three Runway System proposal. However, as current pilots are still employed by airlines, they are reluctant to speak on the safety issue of the third runway. We have finally contacted a retired expatriate pilot who is willing to analyse the safety issues of the third runway in detail.

Professionals have come to the conclusion that the third runway will not fit with the current two runways. Most of the mountains located in the South and North of the Hong Kong International Airport (the Airport) are over 1000 ft. Therefore, the amount of possible flight paths will be limited. (For details please see pages following.) Roy Tam, President of Green Sense, remarked, “The third runway is located almost a strict line with Tai Mo Shan. In other words, it requires a sharp landing from as high as 4000 ft for an aircraft to landing safely without a crash on the mountain. It is not a desirable flight path.”

On the other hand, if the aircraft land from the southwest and such attempt is not successful, the aircraft must try to reach a higher altitude within a short distance. According to the internal documents of HKAA, one of the emergency plans is to turn left while attempting to reach a higher altitude. However, there is risk of crashing with the Castle Peak.

In recent years, narrow-body aircrafts occupy a higher percentage in the use of the Airport. Roy Tam says, “Although there are more flights, the average number of passengers per aircraft is declining.” Green Sense is of the view that, it is not necessary to have an expansion of a three-runway system to increase the overall carrying capacity. HKAA can, instead, encourage the use of wide body aircrafts (having 2 aisles inside) with administrative and economic incentives or policies.

私人飛機泊滿機場多個角落,可見私人飛機佔用跑道情況越來越多

私人飛機泊滿機場多個角落,可見私人飛機佔用跑道情況越來越多

Moreover, it is said that private aircrafts secure a steady increase of percentage in occupying the Airport. During our site visit, we, Green Sense, has taken photos from different spots and found that many private aircrafts were parked almost all over the Airport. Green Sense emphasizes, runways of the Airport should be used by aircrafts with large carrying capacity but not those owned by millionaires.

Together with many Hongkongers, Green Sense cares much about the impact on our society caused by the Individual Visit Scheme. As pointed out by Mr. Lam Chiu Ying, Ex-director of Hong Kong Observatory, the current large amount of tourists has already exceeded the capacity of Hong Kong and the third runway should not be built for a further boost for tourism.

Not only are the traditional shopping districts like Mongkok, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui full of tourists from the Mainland, but also new towns, including Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Tai Po. Such changes have affected our daily life a lot. Many shopping malls and streets are crowded with tourists from the Mainland. As a result, rent of shops has become more and more expensive. Shops which sell gold, jewellery, cosmetics and watches blossomed in malls and main streets.

Green Sense requests the government, before the discussion of the expansion of a three way system of the Airport, conduct a strategic research into the threshold of the capacity of Hong Kong, in order to find out whether we should attract more and can afford more tourists. Otherwise, a goal of attracting more tourists by the new runway will only bring us more social problems.

機管局建議的三跑道系統,將在不同風向的情況下,使用兩幅圖中其一種的升降模式。 但無論那一種情況,也存在安全風險。

機管局建議的三跑道系統,將在不同風向的情況下,使用兩幅圖中其一種的升降模式。 但無論那一種情況,也存在安全風險。

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