MP: Plane overshot Nottingham East Midlands runway
04.03.06
A row has broken out over claims that an overloaded aircraft overshot its takeoff at Nottingham East Midlands Airport and barely cleared homes near the airport. Conservative MP Edward Garnier made the claim in the House of Commons yesterday after being tipped-off by an airport worker.
Garnier said the freight plane left a 50-metre skidmark on grass at the end of the runway because it was too heavy and had cleared homes in nearby Melbourne by just 100 metres. However, both the airport and operator concerned both denied the incident took place, although Eat Midlands airport has called on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to investigate.
The MP said the incident happened on February 4 and involved a DC86 Ghanaian-registered aircraft belonging to Johnson Air and leased to DHL. He told the Commons: 'The DC86 overshot the 3000-metre-long runway by about 50 metres, leaving skid marks, apparently, on the grass at the end of the runway.'
'The plane just managed to get airborne and by about one nautical mile south of the airport, as it flew towards Melbourne, it was only at about 400 feet above sea level. Given the topography of the ground, it was in fact about 100 metres above ground level.'
'It seems to me that this is a serious incident that could have led to possibly a loss of life and certainly a great deal of damage in the area of the airport.' Mr Garnier added that the airport should have reported the incident to the CAA immediately as it constituted a mandatory occurrence, or a 'near-miss;
An airport spokesman confirmed that it had already investigated the claim. He said: 'Following an internal investigation, no evidence of a breach of safety was found. Therefore, no mandatory occurrence report was required.'
'The aircraft did not overshoot the runway as claimed and left no marks on the grass at the end of the runway. Any incident that causes a safety alert would be immediately reported to the CAA by a mandatory occurrence report, which on this occasion was not deemed necessary.'
'In view of the public concern, we have asked the CAA, the safety regulation authority, to investigate.'
A spokesman for DHL added: 'DHL is not aware of any safety incident relating to our aircraft or flights on February 4 at East Midlands Airport. We will liaise with the airport and the CAA if necessary and appropriate.'
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