Airport Set to Return its Primary Runway Back to Full Service

2012-08-17 — /travelprnews.com/ — ST. JOHN’S, NL, August 14, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. – At 8am tomorrow, St. John’s International Airport Authority will start the process of returning its primary runway (R11/29) back into full service following an overrun of an Ilyushin IL76 cargo aircraft.

At 6pm this evening the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) completed its initial investigation of the site and officially released the aircraft to the Airport Authority and the airline for its removal from the end of the runway (R29).It is anticipated that the removal of the aircraft will be completed by noon tomorrow, at which time the Airport Authority staff will assess and repair any damage that occurred to the airfield lighting system.Following repairs and inspections of the runway, the runway will be returned to service.This runway is expected to be available for operations by tomorrow evening.

The Ilyushin IL76 cargo aircraft, arriving from Prestwick, Scotland, overran the Airport’s primary runway (Runway 11/29) at 4:20pm on Monday, August 13, 2012.St. John’s International Airport Authority activated its emergency plan and its emergency response team responded to the incident along with St. John’s Regional Fire Department, Eastern Health, and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. The aircraft was carrying nine (9) crew members and none required medical attention.

The Airport’s runways were closed for approximately one hour following the incident.At 5:15pm yesterday the Airport’s secondary runway (Runway 16/34) opened for regular operations and has been the active runway since that time. At 8pm this evening Runway 02/20 was reopened for flight operations.There have been no flight delays or cancellations as a result of this incident.

St. John’s International Airport Authority is a private, not-for-profit organization with the mandate to provide the region with a safe, cost-efficient transportation facility that is a catalyst for economic growth.Under the provisions of a long-term Ground Lease with the Federal Government of Canada, the Airport Authority is responsible for the airport’s operations on behalf of the community it serves.

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