The Surface Movement Radar, which can help avert such situations, has been in storage for five months

With several near-misses at Mumbai airport, like the one on Sunday, it's indeed a miracle that a serious accident hasn't taken place so far.

And the airport authorities are stretching their luck for all its worth.

A Surface Movement Radar (SMR), which can help avert such near disasters, is languishing in a storeroom for five months because it has to be installed after the monsoons.

Benefits

An SMR improves the safety and efficiency of surface operations by providing the Air Traffic Control with a real-time picture of aircraft and vehicles on the runway.
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"In the early 90s, an SMR of very low resolution was installed at the airport. The new SMR will be installed after the monsoons," said a source from airport. The SMR wasn't installed before the monsoon, as its cables were being laid.
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Added aviation expert Vipul Saxena, "Looking at the number of unexpected incidents on Mumbai airport in a short span, installation of SMR needs to be given top priority before it's too late."

Saxena said the world's top three airports at South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore had shown a significant decline in such incidents after the installation of SMR.

According to Capt Rangnathan, an aviation expert, "The airport needs new equipment along with qualified manpower, which can handle the situations well.
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At present, the manpower at the airport does not co-ordinate properly, which leads to near collisions."

In Comparison

Incheon airport, South Korea: This airport has three parallel runways with one Instrument Landing System (ILS) on both sides. The ILS uses radio signals to help an aircraft land.

Hong Kong International Airport: This airport has two parallel runways with ILS installed.

The north runway's ILS is so powerful that it allows a pilot to land even if the visibility is 200 metres. For an aircraft to land safely, visibility of 500 m is mandatory.