Beyond the Piano Keys

This article focuses on the aftermath of non-fatal incidents involving aircraft at airports. The author reports 68 such events occurred in 2007, with more than one non-fatal incident occurring weekly. These non-fatal incidents, though they vary in both type and nature, usually lead to the recovery of disabled aircraft. The author offers a long discussion of the types of scenarios involved with aircraft recovery. In some instances, the aircraft is unable to be moved and needs to have assistance in leaving the runway or taxiway. Since ICAO Annex 14 recommends that the airport operator have a plan in place or aircraft recovery, complication can arise due to the expertise, equipment, and personnel the airport has on hand within its engineering and maintenance departments. Where this is lacking, outside vendors may need to be brought in to help. However the recovery is accomplished, the author notes that typically many factors are involved beyond what occurs during normal servicing and maintenance -- everything from using pneumatic airbags to raise aircraft wheels stuck in soft ground to taking special care to know the load limits of various aircraft when employing lifting or pulling operations. One aid to help the recovery team is the Aircraft Recovery Manual (ARM), developed by major airport manufacturers. ARM provides comprehensive information outlining the maximum load and forces that can be applied to the structure of a specific aircraft make and model. As aircraft have dramatically increased in size – from the Boeing 747 to the new Airbus A380 and other wide body aircraft -- the ICAO, through the issuance of its Code F, Circular 5, has begun to classify New Large Aircraft (NLA) to address how mishaps concerning them will be handled. ICAO's work is continuing through the efforts of IATA's Aircraft Recovery Task Force. The task force consists of representatives of aircraft and airline recovery equipment manufacturers, airlines, airport operators, and insurance firms. One result of the task force’s work, based on Circular 5, has been the total revision of part 5 of the airport services manual, which now addresses the issues of today’s New Large Aircraft. The task force also studies aircraft incidents to understand which aspects of aircraft recovery worked and which did not, applying lessons learned to future incidents.