Garuda crew twice confused: tragedy averted after landing fiascos at PER

[BiziBB]

I know flights to PER seem to get all of the problems - this story might be a reminder why NOT to consider Garuda DPS-PER!

Tragedy averted after Perth Airport landing fiasco [WA Today / SMH]
A near-disastrous Perth Airport landing fiasco where the confused crew of a Garuda Boeing 737 with 84 people on board twice ignored air traffic controller instructions has led to a raft of promised changes to prevent such an incident happening again.

And it has been revealed as the second-such incident at the airport in recent years.

Garuda did not respond to the documents, as the airport requested operators to do. The airport did not follow up on the lack of response, as required under its own system.


A similar incident had occurred at the airport in 2005, when an Airbus A340 pulled up short on the runway after its crew had problems identifying markings almost identical to the ones the Garuda pilots were faced with.

[able]

I believe this is the incident in which the runway threshold was displaced so that crews could perform maintenance.

The threshold was marked in a non-standard manner with very small Xs.

The crew initiated the first go around because they reported men and equipment working on the runway.

Instead of an explicit warning from the tower that only part of the runways was available the tower told the crew that the runway was open. The crew then attempted another approach utilizing the runway full length and were instructed to go around.

I saw the pictures of the runway with the Xs before and after they were enlarged. Many pilots would have made a similar error.

When an airport operator closes just a portion of a runway they should take extra care to ensure that pilots understand exactly what portion of a runway is available. There may or may not have been a notam published but a printed notice amid three pages of other low priority errata is insufficient warning.

I would apportion the majority of the blame for this incident to the airport operator, the local controller and the flight crew, in a descending order.

[Orlando Vic]

Wow! Thanks for posting this.

I am in the early planning stages of a trip from DRW to DPS and back. It looks like I can scratch Garuda as a possible carrier.