The current control tower at Ben-Gurion International Airport does not provide for full supervision over events on the ground and must thus be relocated and elevated - this was the conclusion reached in a special Monday meeting of the Aviation Security Forum called by Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.
"This is a state of emergency and everything must be done to prevent disasters that result from the tower's design," Mofaz told the forum.
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| לכתבה המלאה |
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The tower's location and height have already caused serious operational errors at the airport. Recently, an airplane almost landed while another prepared for take-off, and control-tower operators could not see what was happening because of the tower's aforementioned physical dimensions. Only thanks to the resourcefulness of one of the pilots was certain disaster narrowly avoided.
Mofaz instructed the forum to find an alternative site for the control tower within two months, and also to examine the possibility of elevating the tower but leaving it in its current location.
The minister demanded that the problem be resolved within a year, and ordered the Israel Airports Authority to equip control tower operators within three months with cameras and other technological equipment to bring into their field of vision airplanes which are not currently visible from the tower's current location.
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