YLW Connection - Fall 2008 - (Page 14)

RUNWAY EXTENSION: | B Y JENEL L E TURPIN B y the first week of November the extended runway at Kelowna International Airport (YLW) will be certified by Transport Canada and ready for operation. What will this mean for the Okanagan Valley? YLW, the tenth busiest airport in Canada and B.C.’s only 24 hour airport apart from Vancouver International, will now boast a runway totalling 8,900 feet in length. The most important benefit of the runway extension is safety. YLW will now have one of the longest runways in the Interior of BC, the added length providing more room for take off and landing. “Runway excursions” (aircraft going off the runway) are some of the most frequent occurrences involving commercial airliners. Since 2005, there have been five such occurrences in Canada with the most significant being the Air France incident at Toronto Pearson International Airport in 2005. At YLW, the only serious commercial aircraft related incident involved a runway excursion on July 14, 1986 when Pacific Western Airlines Flight 117 (a Boeing 737-200 flying from Calgary International Airport to Vancouver International Airport with a stop in Kelowna) left the runway while landing in Kelowna and came to rest approximately 1,300 feet beyond the end of the runway. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported, however five crew members and 76 passengers suffered minor injuries. A recommendation of the Canadian Transportation Safety Board’s Air France Toronto Incident Report, released in July 2008, was for a runway-end safety area be added at airports across Canada. YLW will have this in place ahead of any regulatory requirement. The extended runway will now be able to accommodate a much wider range of larger aircraft, and that is great news for aviation maintenance and the local economy. Kelowna Flightcraft for example will be able to work on large, wide-bodied aircrafts and provide a full range of onestop services to any airline. These services include light or heavy airframe maintenance, engine services, landing gear overhauls, avionics modifications and interior upgrades. Kelowna Flightcraft has recently opened an engine overhaul shop and will be launching its landing gear overhaul shop by the end of 14 YLW CONNECTION Colin Jewall

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of YLW Connection - Fall 2008

Accelerate Communications - YLW Connection - Fall 2008
Contents
Airport Services
Building for the Future
Eyes on the Sky
Winter Destinations Announced!
A Brand New Way of Life
YLW's Environmental Initiatives
Runway Extension: Multiple Benefits
Ready to Hit the Slopes?
Airport Growth Across the Country
Technology:�Changing the Look of Recruitment
Ten Golden Rules of Lugging your Luggage
Let's Get Technical:�iFIDS
The Changing Dynamic of Air Travel
YLW�News
Trivia & Games

YLW Connection - Fall 2008

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