Mackay Port Authority Airport Safety Initiative Article first published on Tuesday, 26 August 2003 @ 2:49:25 PM

Global aviation maps and manuals will soon carry a detailed warning designed to keep unwary pilots on course when making night time landings at Mackay Airport. The new safety initiative by the Mackay Port Authority follows a potentially fatal incident in which the pilot of a 717 passenger jet came within 200 metres of landing on the Bruce Highway on May 29.

Details of the incident remain unclear but it’s believed the pilot of the Qantaslink jet, carrying more than 90 passengers, confused the lights on Broadsound Road and the Bruce Highway with the runway lights at Mackay Airport. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is currently investigating the latest incident. A preliminary report is expected to be released next month.

Mackay Airport manager Trevor Heard said moves to include the cautionary note on all Jeppesen Aviation Charts were being supported by the airline industry and air safety investigators.

The warning reads: Caution – On Approach to Runway 14 in poor visibility, lighting along a section of the Bruce Highway, aligned N/S approx 1.5 nautical miles west of the airport may be mistaken for a runway. Mr Heard said the wording of the warning note was crafted after top level discussions with ATSB officials and senior Qantas fleet managers.

“It’s no secret that we (MPA) were alarmed at this latest incident and we are determined to do everything in our power to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “A simple notation on a chart could be all that’s needed to prevent a repeat of this potentially serious incident.”

It’s the second time in 14 years that a passenger jet managed to mistake street lights for the Mackay runway. A similar incident involving an Australian Airlines 737 occurred in 1989.

Mr Heard said the idea for a warning note on aviation charts and route manuals came from a pilots’ internet forum in the wake of the most recent incident in May. “The big thing is to learn from the mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again,” he said.