Kolkata airport to step up CCTV surveillance

KOLKATA: The airport authorities have suggested all airlines to use generator-run portable lights while their technicians work at the maintenance bay. They are also replacing the existing CCTV cameras with hi-tech ones and are planning to bring more locations at the airport under its coverage after the death of a 22-year-old SpiceJet aircraft maintenance engineer recently while he was fixing a problem in an aircraft’s landing gear.
The decision to upgrade the surveillance cameras came during a runway and airside safety meeting held at the airport earlier this week. While the quarterly meeting was pre-scheduled, the circumstances leading to the death of the young engineer, whose head had got stuck between the hydraulic flap doors of an aircraft belly, were discussed extensively at the meeting. “Since the case is still under investigation, we could not comment or take any immediate measure. To prevent any such accident in the future, we have suggested all airlines to use portable lights at the apron and maintenance bays at night and also stick to the standard protocols,” said Kaushik Bhattacharya, the Kolkata airport director.

At the initial stage of probe, it was found that the remote bay, where the accident had happened, was ill-lit and was beyond the CCTV surveillance. This had resulted in late detection of the man hanging from the aircraft.
Sources said that after the incident, several yellow vapour lamps have been replaced with white LED lights. The height of some of the high-mast lights, which offer better visibility at night, has also been raised.
“We are also planning to upgrade the existing cameras to 180-degree rotatating cameras that can cover a wider area. The control room is also being upgraded with more people manning the camera captures round the clock to act quickly in case of an emergency,” said an official.