Features
GUWAN SEEYA responds To SLAF
Dear Group Capt. Wijesinghe,
This is in response to your letter written to the Editor of The Island, on behalf of the Commander of the SLAF, with reference to my article, on the hazardous wall.
Your allegation that my statement is false is a serious one. The relevant minutes of the PDO meeting at Temple Trees along with those present, is given here for yours and the Commander’s kind indulgence. The Ratmalana operators had a strong case for a frangible fence and that was mooted and all those present were witnesses. Unfortunately, when perusing the minutes, I find that the words used by the young man of the PDO who kept the minutes of the meeting, were ‘frangible wall’ which the SLAF representative (present Commander) promised to pursue. As a matter of interest, 
I quote “The fence and its gates have to be sufficiently stable to serve the purpose and cannot be made frangible without detrimental effects to their intended function. However, the structure should be segmented a design such that the failure mode of the structure would be ‘windowing’ in the event of an aeroplane colliding with the fence”.
An overrun of a runway occurs on the average of at least one a month somewhere in the world (ICAO). On the morning of 12th October 2018 a Boeing 737 departing Triruchinapoly, India, for Dubai, UAE, hit the perimeter wall on departure. Fortunately, the wall was made of brick and the fence on top of the wall was frangible (breaking on impact). Because the undercarriage (wheels) demolished the wall and carried the fence with it. The crew and passengers had a ‘narrow shave’. In contrast, the wall at the Galle Road end of Ratmalana is made of cement blocks with a solid concrete beam running across the top. If a similar event occurred there the crew and passengers would have been history.
There are ways and means of getting over the problem of a solid wall at the end of the runway.
Let me hasten to add that I have the greatest respect to the Commander and the RCyAF/SLAF which gave me valuable flying experience in my fledgling years. The intention was not to embarrass the SLAF or the Commander, but since October 1917, no positive action from your end, to solve the problem.
Since all pilots couldn’t get involved, it was left to one or two pilots to push for change at Ratmalana as the then DGCAASL, and his representatives were not pilots and were procrastinating.
Also attached here is an appeal to the then Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority (DGCAA), over one year later, in November 2018, when CAASL was ‘foot dragging’. The signatories, comprising of 22 very senior Airline Pilots of the land, with experience totalling some 330,500Hrs of flying to their credit. They have been flying all over the world and knew the Aviation Industry’s Standards.
In the true spirit of ‘Conflict Resolution’ we should focus on what is right that who is right.
The alternative the operators were asking for was a fence (recommended by the Annex 14 to the ICAO Convention) where the other side can be seen for security purposes. The present solid wall at Ratmalana has a blind side. Katunayake has a fence on the Negombo Road end. In this day and age when even the Police stations have got rid of their walls, it was a mystery as to why there was hesitancy in replacing the wall. Watching airplanes from the perimeter fence is not a bad idea. It certainly will fire the young minds of the next generation.
International Airport with four runways and a major autobahn (much bigger than Galle Road) crossing at the beginning of Runway 25L and 25R. There is no wall but only a fence where one can see inside one of the largest bases of the USAF in Europe. It is a shared airport like Ratmalana, BIA and many others in Sri Lanka. There are even viewing galleries in International Airports, for the use of the general public to watch aeroplanes land and take off. They bring their camera’s and VHF radios to listen to radio chatter between the pilots and the control tower (TRC please note!). Now, that is a way of making money, for SLAF welfare by charging a nominal entry fee. The Museum is another case in point. You have one of the best aviation museums in the world at Ratmalana. Throw it open to the public once the Covid-19 blows over and make some money for SLAF welfare. Some of the aircraft that this Seeya has flown are there and could be made airworthy. Passenger, joy rides on the Dakota DC3’s, HS 748’s, DH Herons, DH Doves and various light aircraft, including vintage helicopters. would be money spinners.
Suitable road signs (see picture) could be used with intelligent use of traffic lights, for worst case senarios, like at the Gibralta airport, where a main road intersects the active runway. (See picture)
The International Civil Aviation Organisation requires authorities to be Proactive, Predictive and Preventive. The absence of accidents doesn’t make an operation safe. In fact, the SLAF in the recent past have had over four over-runs on the Attidiya side, including that of the most senior operational pilot. In the sixties, an American Military aircraft took the whole fence with it. There was one serious overrun at the Galle Road end and that narrowly missed hitting the hazardous wall. By the law of averages, more are bound to occure.
The possible solutions to manage the hazardous wall are many.
May humbly I suggest a committee of all parties, namely the Civil Aviation Authoriry (CAASL), Airport and Aviation Sri Lanka (AASL), Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF)/ Ministry Of Defence (MOD) and the Operators meet and come up with a practical solution in the name of air safety and not only from a mercenary point of veiw.
GUWAN SEEYA