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My flight could not land in the Cuenca Airport, Why sometimes planes can't land on the Marshal La Mar? I tell you in this post. Photo La Voz de Tomebamba
This topic is not new, He has been hearing it quite a lot. I remember some 9 years that a Airbus A319 from Tame did not land on Cuenca while it was raining there and he diverted to Guayaquil, At that time social networks are not now, but still some noise was made because of the annoyance, especially because some politicians were on that flight.
After second attempt flight from #Tame #Quito #Cuenca It fails to land. pic.twitter.com/vvohia3FjY
— Nicholas Larenas ✈️ (@n_larenas) February 22, 2016
At that moment, this blog didn't exist yet, but I did report that situation on my Twitter account and I also remember that some time later some passengers "took a Tame plane" because it could not land in Cuenca, This in 2017. As you can see, It is not new, but in recent days this issue was repeated and with more force thanks to the reach of the networks and the intervention of local authorities of the city.
For this reason and in order to clarify from a technical and non-political point of view the causes of these "non-landings" I have created this publication so that all citizens can know and understand the reason., that is very simple: SECURITY. Understanding that not getting to your destiny is a great discomfort and affects our plans, even more so now that Cuenca is the fashionable city and is growing a lot in tourism and flight frequencies, but it is better not to put air operations at risk.
Why can't some flights land in Cuenca??
For even more context, We must understand that the Cuenca Airport It is not just another air terminal., common or normal. This airport is known for its complexity for operation due to two main factors: height and short track of barely 1.898 meters long.
As reference, the new Quito airport have 4.098 meters long, so you can imagine that with a track this short in Cuenca and that additionally, It does not have security areas at the ends known as Resa (Runway End Safety Area) and be to 2.532 meters above sea level, its operation is very complex and limited, Therefore there are also no direct international flights.
As part of our history we must remember what happened to the embraer accident 190 de Tame that landed in wet runway conditions, going beyond its limits and being meters away from a tragedy, Does this understand the risk of landing in Cuenca in some conditions??
It is so complex, that this airport has “Captain only” status, which means that only the pilot seated on the left of the plane, with greater range and more experience in the cockpit is the one who can land. As a reference and to see how tight this airport is, I leave this video that I made 15 years in a Airbus A320 of Tame:
However, It has been said a lot that only one airline is the one that cannot land. They literally say: my Avianca flight did not land while the LATAM flight did not land, Yes. Here it is important to clarify that this situation of not landing can happen to any airline and just as it happens to a, It has also happened to the other one, but why?
Cuenca Airport: Short track, high and can rain
on a sunny day, At least there is low visibility, We will never see a plane divert to the alternate that it usually is Guayaquil because of the proximity, since the track conditions are good and mainly, it's dry. This condition allows correct braking efficiency based on the speed and weight of the aircraft plus passengers., cargo and the plane itself.
But, There will be days when conditions will not be optimal and we will have conditions known in aviation as wet runways., wet runway or "contaminated runway", which means that there are materials or substances outside the track like ice, Snow and in the case of Marshal La Mar, water and many times so much water that puddles are generated (There are known water evacuation problems on this track.) and these are not safe operating conditions.
When it rains in Cuenca (which we are all happy about the electrical issue), Airlines begin to perform complex calculations to check whether they will be able to land safely within the specific parameters for their aircraft model.. And here it is worth differentiating that between the only two airlines that fly between Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca There are two models:
- Avianca Ecuador: Airbus A320
- LATAM Ecuador: Airbus A319
you will say, It is the same, but no. Between one A319 and a A320 there are big differences in size, Weight and capacity:
- Airbus A319:
- passengers: until 160 passengers,
- Length: 33.84 meters
- Maximum landing weight: 62.5 tons
- Airbus A329:
- passengers: until 195 passengers,
- Length: 37.57 meters
- Maximum landing weight: 66 tons
How can you see the Airbus A320 that uses Avianca It has a greater capacity of passengers in your case 180, es 3.73 meters longer and has 3.5 tons more weight. These are the key values, that although "they are only 3.5 tons" in terms of the speed and track required to brake are the key to having the reason why they land or not.
With these differences and for each flight we see in the air, Each of the planes needs more or less runway and will depend on many factors that are analyzed before and during the flight that can change in a matter of minutes, such as the intensity and direction of the wind., braking efficacy, airplane features, total weight of the aircraft and others.
Then, We do take into account that an A320 weighs more than an A319, by simple logic, Your landing speed will be greater and will require more runway to brake., that if we add to a track contaminated by different amounts of water, will cause the landing gear friction with the pavement or asphalt to be less, resulting in a lower braking coefficient and therefore requiring a greater length of track to stop..
And this is how and why sometimes planes cannot land in Cuenca and of course, there are many more complex calculations and parameters that must be developed and taken into account, but in simple terms, this is the situation at this airport, that will only change the day it doesn't rain, its runway is expanded or a completely new airport is built.
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