All those who are opposed to the idea of Hong Kong building a third airport runway now have another argument to add to their arsenal.
The SCMP has reported that a PLA firing range, located at Castle Peak, would pose a threat to aeroplanes in the event of an aborted landing.
The escape route for the proposed third runway would be located above the Castle Peak base.
The base, which runs shooting exercises regularly throughout the year, operates a no-fly zone of 914 metres above the site during such exercises.
Therefore, in order for planes to evade the line of fire during a missed approach, they would have to climb faster and higher, performing a potentially dangerous manoeuvre with a climbing gradient of 10 percent or more.
The British National Air Traffic Services (NATS) have deemed that “operationally unacceptable”, as the maximum gradient is usually seven percent.
The Hong Kong Airline Pilots Association also said that older aircrafts could not perform the procedure to stay on a safe flight path.
The worst-case scenario would see an aircraft that missed its approach enter the firing range at a height of 526 metres. Castle Peak itself stands at 583 metres, and worse, a broadcasting tower adds a further seven metres.
NATS said the tower would need to be removed.
Michael Mo Kwan-tai, the spokesman for the Airport Development Concern Network, said the newly created missed approach flight path “is clearly very close to” to the danger zone.
In 2008, NATS presented a recommendation to relocate the firing range, at the expense of the PLA relinquishing control of a strategic point.
Photo: Bill Abbott via Flickr
