Debris clearance is crucial to prevent further casualties

With the recent crash of Air France Flight 447 on its way from France to Brazil, many will be getting nervous about the safety of the flights they are due to take over the summer months.

Adverse weather conditions and fear of engine failure are often the source of people’s apprehension. However few realise that foreign objects and debris left on airport runways pose a significant safety risk to aircrafts. This was especially evident in 2000 when Concorde crashed just minutes after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground. The cause of the crash was originally thought to be an engine catching fire on take-off. However, in 2004, French investigators blamed the disaster on a strip of metal that fell on to the runway from a Continental Airlines DC-10. This was found to have burst the Concorde's tyres, which ruptured the plane's fuel tanks as they broke up.

As a consequence of the Concorde tragedy there was a call from the airline and airport industry to see if there were any technologies out there that could eradicate this problem. The Tarsier system we have developed has done just that.

The usual way that runways are inspected for any foreign objects or debris is by eye from a moving vehicle four times a day. However, this method is by no means ideal as it leaves large time gaps between inspections and makes it especially difficult to inspect runways at night. The system is basically a camera coupled with a radar system which works throughout the day and night. The radar sweeps the runway and looks for small changes to identify objects appearing. When an object is identified the co-ordinates are sent to the camera system, which accurately focuses in on the object and gives the human operator the opportunity to look at the debris and decide if he wants to do something e.g. whether to close the runway, or whether its debris that can be ignored. One of biggest challenges was to ensure the camera could operate 24 hours a day. We overcame this problem by developing a safe level laser to effectively turn night into day.

The system is extremely accurate in locating any debris that might be present on the runway and minimises the amount of unplanned runway closures. This in turn will minimise the disruption to flight schedules, especially important as we head in to a time of increased flight traffic over the summer months.

In two years in operation at Vancouver, Tarsier has found over 400 items, including several classed as "posing significant risk". It is a great example of engineers working with the airport and aircraft industry to bring about change in runway safety processes that had previously remained the same for 50 years.

Science and engineering play a key role in so many aspects of people’s lives, including aircraft travel and safety, as the "Science: So What? So Everything" campaign aims to show, and the work we do is yet another example of the important role science plays in dealing with the challenges of our times. We’re really proud to have been nominated as finalists for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert award, the UK’s premier award for engineering innovation. We’ve worked hard to develop the technology to this stage and are very proud to have been recognised in this way.

It is important that in order to increase people’s confidence in aircraft safety, science and engineering continues to come up with ways to tackle potential issues quickly and effectively. It is by doing so that we will avoid a repeat of the fatalities suffered from Concorde’s flight in 2000 and ensure people’s faith in airport safety remains strong.

Graham Binns is Chief Engineer, Qinetiq, who have been nominated for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award; the winner which will be announced this week.

Science Made Simple

Buy the new Independent eBook - £1.99 Why is the sky blue? A compendium of fascinating answers to the simple, scientific questions posed by Independent readers

kobo iBooks Amazon Kindle
Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Top stories
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
More stories
       
Independent
Travel Shop
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from £749pp Find out more
Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian coast
Seven nights half-board from only £859pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from only £199pp Find out more
 
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

FX Options Front Office Java / C# Developer

£500 - £600 per day: Orgtel: FX Options Front Office Java / C# Developer - Ba...

Project Manager - Front Office - Regulatory IT

£600 - £700 per day: Orgtel: Project Manager - Front Office - Regulatory IT C...

Lighting Design Engineer

£33000 - £35000 Per Annum: The Green Recruitment Company: The Green Recruitmen...

Are you an Primary NQT looking for your first role in Essex?

£21000 - £22000 per annum: Randstad Education Chelmsford: NQTs required now fo...

Day In a Page

Babies behind bars: A Palestinian fertility doctor has become an unlikely hero by helping women conceive – even though their husbands are in jail

Babies behind bars

A Palestinian fertility doctor has become an unlikely hero by helping women conceive – even though their husbands are in jail
Sonic youth: The high-pitched sound alarm for under 25s

Sonic youth: The high-pitched sound alarm

Is Mosquito, the alarm only under-25s can hear, a blessing or a bane?
The art of living in small spaces: Architects are learning how to make less, more

The art of living in small spaces

Space in cities at a premium so architects are learning how to make less, more...
Special report: The story of Sir Mervyn King's reign at the Bank

The story of Sir Mervyn King's reign at the Bank

After four 'nice' years as Governor of Bank of England, things turned decisively nasty
Zombie nation: Our enduring fascination with a world full of death and destruction

Zombie nation: Our fascination with death and destruction

A new season of shows on Radio 4 is inspired by dark tales of future dystopias. Meanwhile, zombies are marauding in the multiplexes...
Martin Stephen: 'Ofsted says comprehensives are failing the most able but teaching bright children isn't rocket science'

'Teaching bright children isn't rocket science'

It doesn't take a selective system to nurture the best minds, says a former head of St Paul's boys' school.
The retail empires strike back: Can new technology lure us back to the high street?

Can technology lure us back to the high street?

The high street has been bruised and battered by online firms but in-store technology is helping to enliven the retail experience...
The 10 Best new smartphones

The 10 Best new smartphones

Photos, films, music, apps and browsing - the latest mobiles can do it all
Jenson Button: Downbeat driver cannot wait to put season behind him

Jenson Button: Downbeat driver cannot wait to put season behind him

McLaren man admits 'failed gamble' with car has left him pinning hopes on 2014 campaign
James Lawton: Firmer fist will be required to win Champions Trophy final battle with stouter foe

James Lawton

Firmer fist will be required to win Champions Trophy final battle with stouter foe
'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'
Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy
Girls Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'
Steve Tongue: Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago
Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over