{"id":7141,"date":"2019-05-22T06:02:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T10:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=7141"},"modified":"2019-05-24T05:47:37","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T09:47:37","slug":"goose-bay-runway-is-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/goose-bay-runway-is-broken\/","title":{"rendered":"Goose Bay: “Our runway is broken”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Larger jets will not be allowed to land on three out of four runways at Goose Bay for the next three months, as they\u2019ve found cracks after the winter thaw. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airport has settled on a final version of their “Our runway is broken” Notam, and it looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

05\/037<\/strong> – CYYR RWY 08, 26 AND 34 NOT AVBL FOR ACFT WITH TIRE PRESSURE OF 1.0MPA (145 PSI) OR GREATER AND ACFT WITH ACN\/PCN OF 40 OR GREATER, EXC MEDEVAC AND AVBL AS EXTENDED RANGE TWIN-ENGINE OPS (ETOPS) ALTERNATE. 
21 MAY 14:01 2019 UNTIL 17 AUG 23:59 2019. CREATED: 21 MAY 14:06 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So not the most pilot-friendly piece of information! Unless you happen to know your tire pressure off-hand, best head for RWY 16<\/strong>, which is the only one that remains fully open and operational to all aircraft (the only reason RWY 34 is restricted is because aircraft using that runway touch-down on the intersection with RWY 08\/26 – which is where some of the cracking damage has been found).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Notam does state that the other three runways at CYYR can still be used an ETOPS alternate<\/strong>, meaning that you\u2019re allowed to divert there in an emergency regardless of size, weight, tire pressure, or ACN. However, with the deteriorating runway conditions they\u2019re also warning of possible aircraft damage due to loose sealant and asphalt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

05\/038<\/strong> (190206) – CYYR RWY 08\/26 SFC IS DETERIORATING AND CRACKING AND MAY PRODUCE FOREIGN OBJECT DEBRIS (LOOSE SEALANT AND ASPHALT) ACFT DAMAGE MAY OCCUR. 23 MAY 18:20 2019 UNTIL 23 AUG 23:59 2019. CREATED: 23 MAY 18:24 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACN vs PCN<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The mention of “ACN\/PCN” in Goose Bay’s Notam made us close our eyes and try to imagine a world where Notams just made immediate sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing your tire pressure is one thing, but trying to work out your ACN number<\/strong> is a much more tricky business, as it has to factor in the aircraft\u2019s maximum centre of gravity, maximum ramp weight, wheel spacing, tire pressure, and other factors. Your AFM should have a bunch of pages which tell you this (or you can have a quick look here<\/a> instead).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you know your ACN number (or rather, \u2018numbers\u2019 – as there are different ACN numbers for each aircraft depending on the strength of the runway you\u2019ll be landing on), you can then check it against the runway PCN number<\/strong> – the number issued for each runway which tells you what kind of surface it is, how strong it is, and what level of stress it is able to withstand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, if your aircraft\u2019s ACN is equal to or less than the runway\u2019s PCN, you\u2019re good to go.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the AIP, Goose Bay\u2019s runway PCN is 076FBXU<\/strong>. The important bits here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n