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After the incident between a truck aeronautical firefighters and the Airbus A350 from Iberia on Guayaquil, has the end of the traditional water arches?
The airport with the most air operations in Ecuador It became global news again and not for anything good.. This time it wasn't vans entering an active runway and preventing flights from Iberia and KLM land in Guayaquil to repatriate Europeans in a clear act of unlawful interference, but a brand new plane was damaged in a very innocent event: a water arch.
And of course, again Iberia forcefully becomes a protagonist in the global public gaze, but apart from that, hundreds of passengers have been left without flying, wasting time, connections and money.
Arc of water damages and an Iberia Airbus A350 damaged
with joy, as a positive advance for the connectivity of Guayaquil with the world, since just the past 4 June was the first scheduled commercial flight of the huge, modern A350 to this city, We celebrate that one of the 3 weekly frequencies are operated by this aircraft, even if it is for a short period.
Within this celebration and seeing the most modern aircraft on the market no longer only operating in Quito, is that he Guayaquil airport decided to do what is done with new airplanes: make them a welcome water arch.
In this unfortunate event, They prepared it for the departure of the flight and thus take advantage of the daylight so that spotters, passengers and curious people can see this great plane in the skies of the "Main Port", But things don't always go as planned..
What happened?
Well well, the videos and photos are very clear. wing tip, left wingtip or winglet Airbus A350 hit the water turret of the left bomb of the bow, generating significant damage that will require time, technicians and thousands of dollars in repair, this without counting the lost profits.
Although this aviation incident is under investigation by the competent authorities and the airline itself, It is very clear that the position of the fire trucks is very close, Let's say good for a A320, but the size of the A350 is considerably larger and is a short distance could be due to ignorance of the size of the new aircraft at that station or poor planning. They hit the wing.
This is my personal opinion and only the authorities will be able to indicate the causes., remember that in a aerial research no blame is sought, but the chain of events that led to the accident or incident, but I can say and I hope I'm not wrong, that both the airline and the pilots, They have zero responsibility for what happened, beyond having accepted the water arch, which is something normal that is done all over the world due to various situations.
Is the end of water arches near??
This discussion is not new and has been around for some time at various levels of the airline industry and also in society..
It's not strange that every time I upload a photo of an arch, someone comment that it's absurd, obsolete or a waste of water (even though it is second-class water and whatever, the motor pumps must discharge it from time to time to maintain the operation of the equipment).
Too, There are airlines that no longer accept or request water arches due to their most recent environmental policies., so it becomes increasingly difficult to see a new route, plane or farewell with the traditional greeting of aeronautical firefighters.
This incident, although it should not happen, Similar events with water arches have not been foreign to the airline industry, There is even a case in Dubai where the force of the water jet opened an emergency door of a Airbus A320 getting wet inside and out, plus slide activation. watch this video:
This is just an example, But incidents like the local one and others that have existed call into question whether this tradition should continue or not..
It is a beautiful tradition, in my life 20 years in Aeronautical Communication I have seen and been part of many water arches, I can't even count them. It is a unique event, that marks the end or beginning of something, but for many it is outdated to the times we live in or has lost its grace due to the apparent excessive use of this airline or airport advertising and marketing resource..
Will we see an arch again in Guayaquil or Ecuador? Only time will tell, but what is true, is that it is a beautiful tradition that has disappeared and perhaps, just maybe the day will come when we see a water arch to say goodbye to the last water arch in the world.
I hope this doesn't happen, protocols are improved, Plan better and put signs in place to prevent something like this from happening again., Let us remember that aviation learns from every negative situation and this case will surely bring improvements in every sense to Guayaquil and the industry in general..
Should the water arches stay or disappear? Tell me your opinion in the comments.
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