St. John’s International Airport’s Primary Runway is Back in Operation

2012-08-17 — /travelprnews.com/ — ST. JOHN’S, NL, August 15, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. – At 5:45pm this evening St. John’s International Airport Authority announced that its primary runway (R11/29) is back in operation following an overrun of an Ilyushin IL76 cargo aircraft on Monday, August 13, 2012.

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) at 6pm on Tuesday, August 15, 2012.  At 8am today, the Airport Authority’s operations, field maintenance and electrical teams, along with the airline crew, proceeded to remove the aircraft from the runway.  Prior to being returned to service, the damages to the airfield lighting system were repaired, the runway was swept of any debris and the runway was inspected.

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 on Monday the Airport’s secondary runway (Runway 16/34) opened for regular operations and has been the active runway since that time.  At 8pm on Tuesday, 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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