Overview of Instrument Landing Systems at Jersey Airport
Introduction Aim is to provide a better understanding of: The landing systems at the airport; The challenges of being an island airport and being on the edge of a cliff; What landing systems are in place in Jersey and — …what capability these systems give us; What is planned — Immediate future — Some longer term possibilities
Two types of Landing ‘Approaches’ Non-Precision : At best only provides the pilot with distance (horizontal) information only — How far away am I? Precision : Provides pilot with both distance and height — How far away am I? plus — How close is the ground? ILS: (Instrument Landing System) • Most common, internationally recognized, Precision Approach system • Not a ‘stand alone’ solution – ground based and to get maximum benefit needs to work with a range of other systems on the ground and in the aircraft and also has to be calibrated with ground lighting
ILS Precision Approach Categories 3 Categories as defined by ICAO, CAA & EASA; CAT I is the lowest Precision Category (Jersey, Guernsey, Exeter, Southampton); CAT II requires more lighting and a clearer obstacle environment (Birmingham); CAT III requires specific aircraft equip + training + recency etc (Gatwick, Heathrow); Jersey is a CAT 1 (mainly determined by topology, location on Jersey and runway length)
ILS Precision Approach Categories What does this mean for Jersey – what is our capability? From the East (overland): DH (Decision Height) of 200ft and 550m horizontal visibility From the West (oversea St Ouen): DH of 200ft and 1000m horizontal visibility
Operating ILS in Jersey To achieve CAT I standard certain components must be fully operational Jersey has all the major ILS Components and Lighting required such as: Localizer , Glide Path , Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) , Instrument Runway Visual Range (IRVR) Approach Lights , Runway Threshold Lights , Centreline Lights , Runway Edge Lights , Runway End Lights , Additional components for resiliency: Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) & DVOR (enroute beacon) Airport location means we cannot have all of the ‘normal’ equipment in place. What we don’t have is full Approach Lighting at the 090 end.
Existing Landing Capability – Minima 2012 Decision Height (feet) Visibility (metres) From West 090 From East 270 From West 090 From East 270 ILS (inc GP, DME, IRVR) 200 200 1000 550 ILS (inc GP) 320 359 1200 900 DVOR 380 489 1500 1500 NDB (inc DME) 320 379 1200 1000 Decision Height (feet) is referenced to the airfield threshold elevation Visibility (metres) is the distance that a pilot of an aircraft on the centreline can see the runway surface markings All the above equipment is Ground Based. DH - St Peters Church 130 ft
Improving the Landing Capability – Minima End 2012/2013 Decision height (feet) Visibility (metres) From West 090 From East 270 From West 090 From East 270 LTS CAT 1 ILS 200 200 600 450 (inc GP, DME, IRVR) GNSS 350 379 1400* 800* GNSS (BaroVNav) 290 330 1200* 650* GNSS (SBAS) 250 260 1000* 600* Lower Than Standard CAT 1 (LTS CAT 1 Ground Based) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Barometric Vertical Navigation (BARO VNAV), Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) * To be confirmed
Improving Jersey to CAT 2 Approach Improvements might include DH reduction from 200’ to 1 00’; Undertook a review with Cyrrus late last year of CAT 2 ILS requirements; Only 270 (eastern end/overland) possible due to topology (radio alt); Challenges are: Runway too short by 200m for ILS to operate at CAT 2 parameters; Runway strip not protected adequately; Taxiway layout and airfield lighting needs investment; Obstacle environment too dense (eg Arrivals Building & Hangar 4);
October 2012 – ILS out of service
Event Timeline Date Activity Week 35 Outline inspection of 09 ILS – all clear Week 39 Routine inspection of 09 ILS – damage identified ILS taken out of service & NOTAM issued Week 40 Manufacturer engineer assesses damage Parts ordered Week 42 Parts arrive in Jersey and installation commences Week 43 System testing Flight calibration 09 ILS returned to service
Impact of Runway 09 ‘Localizer’ being out of service Heavy fog over a period of 6 days in October 2012 Circa 350 schedules flight arrivals during that period (circa same departures) Localizer u/s for 4 weeks waiting for specialized cable and flight calibrator aircraft Reason Cancellations % 19 20% Visibility lower than operating minima on both 09 and 27 runways Aircraft/Airline decision to cancel - unrelated to 09 ILS Runway 09 in use with visibility within limits for the available equipment 11 12% (i.e. even though 09 ILS was out of service) 37 40% Runway 27 in use with visibility within limits of 27 ILS Reasons for cancellation not communicated to Airport 2 2% Aircraft/Airline decision to cancel - potentially related to 09 ILS Aircraft offered alternative approaches on Runway 27 as conditions were within operating limits, 16 17% but chose not to accept 8 9% Aircraft were not offered alternative approaches 93 100% Total
Internal Investigation Main Investigation Issues Management Response • Improve resilience (eg Satelite) Damage to ILS • Audit damage risk to critical equipment • Tighten policy and controls for wildlife management • NOTAM and Operations Communications conducted well Decision to take ILS out of Service • Improve on public communication • Source and stock critical spares (eg cable), where Length of time to return to service manufacturer continues to support • Replacement of ILS scheduled to start in 2016 • Implemented revised procedures and tightened control Inability to identify the person/s • Continue to review data responsible • Re- enforcing ‘Just’ culture for incident reporting • Address procedure control issues with managers
Summary for Instrument Landing in Jersey We have the best we can within the constraints of Jersey We have improved our operating capability (Lower than CAT I) We continue to improve our resilience (Satellite) We will continue to review technologies which may enable CAT II Since the damage to 09 ILS 1. Set an operating objective : no impact due to failure of a landing system (2015) 2. Reviewed and tightened procedures and ensured management accountabilities 3. Investing in critical spares to reduce potential lead time 4. Set up briefings to better communicate about Instrument Landing in Jersey
ILS Components Localizer: provides horizontal course guidance along the extended runway centreline Glide Path: provides information on angle of approach DME: provides distance information - very high degree of accuracy IRVR: horizontal visibility NDB: radio beacon transmits non-directional signals - pilot able to determine bearings and ‘home in on’ the station. DVOR: An en-route, high altitude navigation aid for aircraft as they fly from one control zone to another. — In Jersey it is positioned on the extended runway centreline so it can also provide horizontal course guidance to the airfield.
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