The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has started to move the runway markings of Dumaguete Airport because of the danger posed to commercial jets by a row of tall trees.
Rodante Joya, CAAP assistant director-general for operations, said the agency is now in the process of shortening the usable length of the runway for safety concerns posed by tall trees obstructing the glide path of incoming flights on the approach to Runway 09 from the west.
Pilots have also complained that the trees, which are on a property less than 100 meters opposite the runway, almost graze the bellies of planes approaching for touchdown, posing a threat to life and property.
Last Tuesday, a Cebu Pacific airbus A320 type with registry number RP-C3237 was forced to stay overnight at the airport parking bay after mechanics found hydraulic leak on right side main landing gear and existence of tree leaves attributed to tall trees lining up on the runway approach.
With the shortening of the usable runway, Dumaguete Airport operations will be limited to propeller-type commercial aircraft and general aviation jets.
Joya said the agency came up with the decision to keep with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization particularly where the trees pose significant safety issues, endangering the lives of commercial jet passengers, as they are located within the final approach of the runway.
“The obstruction limits the required ground visual contact of the pilot to the threshold during final approach and may cause unstabilized approach, shortness of landing distance available [LDA] which may lead to aircraft overshooting the runway or unnecessary missed approaches,” he said.
“During bad weather condition, low level approaches may cause the pilot to lose sight of the runway resulting in the aircraft hitting the trees, damaging the landing gears and other aircraft parts, which may cause fatalities,” Joya added.
Joya cited a finding by the agency’s Aerodrome and Air Navigation Safety Oversight Office which described the conditions at the Dumaguete Airport runway as “critical and has the potential to result in loss of life, serious injury or damage to facilities and which requires corrective action to be completed immediately and if not may lead to downgrading of aircraft operation to a smaller airplane or, worst, closure of the airport.”
He pointed out that numerous operational hazard reports were submitted by airline companies saying that the presence of the tall trees were hazardous to aircraft during the landing phase of the flight, where they almost touch the belly of the planes on runway descent.
A report from the CAAP Flight Inspection and Calibration Group (FICG) likewise observed that the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) at the Dumaguete Airport couldn’t be fully utilized because of the tall trees, which obstruct the glide path angle on the final approach of runway 09.
PAPI is a visual aid that guides and helps a pilot acquire and maintain the correct glide path and descent on a runway.
The Dumaguete Airport serves as the entry point to Siquijor and Southern Cebu from/to Manila and other destinations in the Philippines. The airport hosted Cebu Pacific, CEBGO, and Pal Express domestic flights, serving an average of 14 commercial flights daily from Manila to Dumaguete and to Cebu operated by PAL Express and Cebu Pacific, while an average of 15 Genav flights or private aircraft land and take off daily.