Speakers at the international aviation safety seminar on Tuesday called for improved safety measures on the runways to avoid aircraft-wildlife collisions. An available data reveals that between 1912 and 2001, at least 223 people have been killed world-wide as a result of wildlife collisions with aircrafts.
Mammals such as jackal, warthog aardwolf and mongoose have been known to traverse the runways and aprons of the airports in Namibia. Therefore, keeping the perils of such collisions in view, a two-day seminar is organised by the Pakistan Air Line Pilots' Association (PALPA) in collaboration with the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Association (IFALPA) and International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI). President IFALPA Captain Carles Limon chaired the seminar, which was attended by air safety experts from all over the world.
Speaking at the inaugural session, President PALPA Captain Suhail Baluch said pilots serving Pakistani airlines are abiding by the safety standards of aviation. Highlighting the event's importance, he said that the seminar was aimed at scaling down air travel accidents and incidents by effectively educating, updating and inculcating the significance of safety measures of aviation to all concerned.
He pointed out that the protection of members' rights, interests and their welfare, besides a promotion of aviation safety standards, were the primary objectives of PALPA and added that, spreading awareness about safety measures had always been the association's top priority.
President PALPA said that the representative body of pilots had always been eager to keep up pace with the technical expertise and professionalism through an exchange of views with international bodies such as IFALPA, ICAO, IAPA, FAA, 3M and major aircraft manufacturers like Airbus Industry, Boeing and ATR.
Wing Commander (Retd) Syed Naseem Ahmed stressed on the need of taking measures to ensure aviation safety through useful regulatory development processes in Pakistan and Asia as the one which already exists in Australia. He said that meticulous investigation in aircraft' accidents were crucial to develop a future framework for a viable mechanism regarding safety. From aviation safety point of view, the Vice Chairman IFALPA's Age Committee Heriberto Salazar highlighted the perils of the presence of birds and wild animals on the runways and near by areas.
He said that unless pilots were well trained, the airlines would have to grapple with many risks and challenges in this regard. Highlighting pilots' vigilance, he said that pilots, in such situations, take timely and vigilant decisions to avoid accidents. Squadron Leader Pakistan Air Force Naushad explained the Safety Data Collection and Analysis Procedures. Accidents occur due to both material factors as well as the human factor, he said. He also said that the pilots have to be fully aware of accident prevention measures as well as procedures necessary for safety.
Captain Heriberto presented analysis on runway safety, sharing some of his techniques and experiences with participants of the seminar. He lauded the efforts of (PALPA) for arranging such a seminar to broaden the horizon of pilots regarding safety procedures and practices. A member of PALPA Captain Azizuddin gave a presentation on Economics of Aviation Safety.
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