PA - FAA: Landing without lights up to pilot

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By Jim Carroll Staff writer

Sunday night's blackout of runway lights at Erie International Airport did not produce a mid-air surprise for any pilots headed to Erie, at least none that air traffic controllers know about.

And a Federal Aviation Administration official said that is the way the air traffic system is supposed to work -- that there are measures intended to prevent surprises when something goes wrong at an airport.

The runway lights at Erie went out for the third time in four months at 9:15 p.m. Sunday when a transformer blew out.

That forced the cancellation of two late-night inbound flights -- a US Airways flight from Pittsburgh and a Mesaba/Northwest Airlink flight from Detroit -- before the problem was corrected six hours later.

Both flights were canceled before either plane left the runway at Pittsburgh or Detroit.

Richard T. Pelkowski, manager of the FAA traffic control tower at Erie, said there is no indication in the logs that any other flights were affected by the lighting problem.

Pelkowski said if there is a problem or anything out of the ordinary that could present a hazard to pilots, such as a loss of landing lights, an airport is required to immediately file a NOTAM, short for Notice to Airmen.

The NOTAM is sent automatically to commercial airlines and through computer links to some operators of charter or corporate aircraft. General aviation fliers -- pilots of smaller planes -- get notice when they file a flight plan or check in for a report on weather or flying conditions.

Airports file NOTAMs for any number of reasons, Pelkowski said. The Jamestown, N.Y., airport, for example, will close its runway when a major snowstorm hits, and a NOTAM advises pilots of that.

Pelkowski said air traffic controllers would be in contact with any planes that were actually in the air approaching Erie International, and would advise them of the problem.

Airliners and air taxis are required to carry enough fuel to get them to a suitable alternative airport, such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo. "It's all in the regulations," Pelkowski said. Smaller general-aviation craft would be diverted to airports in Meadville, Corry, Jamestown, Dunkirk, N.Y., or Ashtabula, Ohio.

But Pelkowski said air traffic controllers only advise pilots on conditions. In the case of darkened runway lights, most pilots would decide to go elsewhere, but on a bright, moonlit night, a pilot might decide to use the runway.

"We do not prohibit them from landing. We tell them about the conditions and they decide to land at their own risk," Pelkowski said.

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-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), March 22, 2001


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