Africa-Press – Uganda. On Thursday, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed Entebbe International Airport to incoming and outgoing flights for more than 20 hours following an early morning incident in which a RwandAir jet skidded off runway 17/35 and ended up on a grass patch.
The cause of the accident remains the subject of speculation. CAA initially attributed it to weather-induced visibility problems, but that argument did not wash as it emerged that a Turkish Airlines aircraft lifted off the same runway in more intense rain and worse environmental conditions than those that were prevailing at the time the RwandAir jet landed.
It has, however, since emerged that it could have been caused by alleged defects on the runway which was resurfaced in 2020 under phase one of the $200m upgrade of the airport.
The runway is said to be poorly marked and was designed badly that it allows water to accumulate on the surface whenever it rains, which has over time affected the quality of the surface.
Highly-placed sources say it has since become too smooth to allow for tyres to have the kind of grip that allows for timely braking, which makes it easy for planes to skid off the runway as was the case on Thursday.
As we move to investigate the matter to its logical end, CAA ought to expeditiously move to address the safety and technical issues at the airport in order to avert disaster.
It is not reassuring that CAA took more than 19 hours to tow away the plane. How long would it take us to tow away an Airbus if it were to suffer a similar fate?
The RwandAir incident should be an eye opener to CAA. The name of the game should be contingency planning. “A stitch in time”, as the English say, “saves nine”.
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