SINGAPORE: A new camera system, to be deployed around Changi Airport early next year, could save you from not only annoying flight delays, but also catastrophic accidents.

Even under the most difficult of conditions, the system's 24 cameras placed along Changi's two 6km-long runways can pick out a 4cm object — roughly the size of a golf ball — from about 340m away. When visibility is clear, the cameras can even detect a 2cm object.

And when such foreign objects are spotted, traffic and ground operations control staff watching on a display-screen will be able to zoom in on the object, identify it and activate staff to clear away the debris immediately.

Currently, personnel have to physically conduct inspections on the runway.

On Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) inked a $12-million deal with Stratech Systems — after a 15-month pilot trial — to install this intelligent runway surveillance and foreign-object system at Changi, making it the first airport in the world to be equipped with such a system.

CAAS director-general and chief executive Lim Kim Choon said the new system would set even higher standards in operational efficiency and passenger safety. Five daily inspections, each taking 15 to 20 minutes, are now conducted using this system, which is higher than the four-checks-a-day frequency prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

While the CAAS conducts vigorous runway inspections, it is still possible that aircraft using the runway may leave behind objects undetected in between checks, said Mr Lim. This could endanger other aircraft using the same runway.

On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde jet crashed after take-off, when a piece of debris on the runway shredded the plane's tyre, causing the fuel tank to catch fire. All 100 crew members and passengers were killed.

Dr David Chew, Stratech Systems' executive chairman, said the global aerospace industry estimates that about US$4 billion ($5.6 billion) is lost each year to incidents, such as delays, arising from foreign objects on runways.

At Changi, it could take up to 30 minutes to clear a runway of debris after a plane suffers a burst tyre. The runway would have to be temporarily shut down as debris could be spread over an area of up to 300m.

The more common objects found on Changi's runways are stones and gravel, said the CAAS.

Dr Chew hopes the success of the system at Changi will pave the way for improving safety standards at airports worldwide.


- TODAY/so