Pollite Joins Group Committed To Improving Runway Safety
At a time when runway safety has been named a high risk issue worldwide in a recent ICAO report, UK fibreglass approach mast manufacturer Pollite has been asked to join an exclusive group dedicated to improving global airport safety.
The company joins representatives from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), a number of university professors, engineers and two other industry organisations in the Joint Airfield Frangible Study Group (JAFSG), working together to support and implement programmes to drive greater improvements and safeguard some 3.1 billion passengers each year.
The JAFSG will undertake extensive research looking at all aspects of frangibility on the airfield with results filtering into new guides and FAA standards available to all airports around the world. The next meeting, of which Pollite will be part, will take place alongside the IESALC (Illuminating Engineering Society, Aviation Lighting Committee) in Florida in October.
The invitation to join JAFSG comes at an exciting time for Pollite, which is already working to improve runway safety standards in some of the world’s biggest airports. The company has recently fulfilled orders from Sydney Airport, London Heathrow and Dubai International for its range of frangible products.
The recent 2014 Safety Report, released by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), ranks runway safety as one of the three main high risk accident occurrence categories, representing 62% of the total number of accidents at airports worldwide in 2014, and 22% of fatal accidents. Pollite already works to help improve runway safety worldwide and designs and manufactures frangible approach masts to always break, yield or distort upon any contact with aircraft, causing minimal damage. Frangibility is guaranteed because Pollite’s product complies with both International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards on frangibility.
The company has always carried out its own R&D at its UK production plant in Darlington to ensure the highest standards of frangibility and regional sales manager Richard Landsbury, is delighted that the company is taking further positive steps and working with the FAA as part of JAFSG to influence even greater improvements.
“It is an honour for us to be invited to play a part in JAFSG and work together with other leading industry figures to help improve runway safety standards worldwide. The recent ICAO report indicates that runway safety is still a big issue but by working together I am confident that JAFSG will have a positive impact, as well as complementing our own work in the field.”
Editor’s notes
Pollite is one of the largest manufactures of fibreglass masts in Europe with an international presence that spans across Europe, South America, Asia and beyond. Pollite has over 40 years experience in the manufacturing of fibreglass masts. Both certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) for frangibility compliance, the last 10 years has seen Pollite pioneer the development of a series of frangible masts, principally for airfields.
Pollite products are designed to comply with the ICAO Aerodrome Design Manual. Part 6, Frangibility, which reads: ‘ Chapter 3. General Design Considerations. 3.2 Environmental Service Conditions:’ The object must be capable of withstanding the environmental conditions to which it may be exposed during normal service...several conditions that should be addressed by the designer include - Wind loading- capable of surviving 12.5mm ice cover with a higher level wind speed e.g. 210 km/h (wind loading design should be based upon that historical projection e.g. 50-year mean recurrence interval), Jet blast and Vibration’.
For further information, please contact:
Editorial – Richard Landsbury, Regional Sales Manager, Pollite, email; [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1325 355 525, or John Edden, Bridge PR & Media Services on 024 76 520025, or e-mail [email protected]
