Every month, dozens of airplane tires are slashed at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat.
Many cases of aircraft having their tires cut have been discovered at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports, raising concerns about the risk of flight safety. The cause has been determined to be due to the presence of foreign objects at the airport, while the detection and removal measures currently being applied are entirely manual.
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Giao thong newspaper on April 5 quoted sources as saying that every month, there are dozens of cases of airplane tires being cut at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports. Vietnam Airlines alone had 50 cases of airplane tires being cut in the first 3 months of this year. Of these, 23 cases occurred at Noi Bai, 26 at Tan Son Nhat and 1 case in Da Nang.
Vietnam Airlines leaders informed that the airline has coordinated with Vietnam Airports Corporation, the world's leading aircraft tire manufacturers such as BridgeStone Japan and Good Year Thailand to determine the cause.
Through the process of synthesis, monitoring, analysis and evaluation, the main cause was determined to be foreign objects on the runway and aircraft maintenance area such as: Soil, rocks, scrap iron, screws scattered on the runway, road, from construction works and from the vehicles operating on the apron. In some cases, foreign objects were even attached to the tire when cut.
Mr. Trinh Nhu Long, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation, said that the foreign object appeared from damaged concrete, causing rocks to burst and shoot up.
Currently, world technology has allowed cameras to be installed on each light on the runway and taxiway, capable of detecting foreign objects as small as a few centimeters and automatically alarming when detecting foreign objects on the runway.However, currently, Vietnamese airports are detecting manually, detecting by eye with a minimum frequency of 7 times/day for each landing and take-off runway.
Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Airport Corporation (the main responsible unit) said that according to international experience, with high density airports like Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai, there should be a foreign object detection machine to replace human resources, ensuring aviation safety. However, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) only recommends, but does not require, the installation of a foreign object detection system.
