Approach Lights at Kingston Airport Inoperable During Crash

Photo/NYDailynews

By Alicia Cruz
Editor-in-Chief
Theblackurbantimes

Since a November outage, the approach lights at Kingston airport had been out

Those bright orange or red lights you see on airport runways are meant to guide pilots as they attempt to land planes on approach to an airport.

The offshore guiding lights that help pilots approaching Jamaica's main airport were not working Thursday morning when American Airlines flight 331 was attempting to land amid heavy rain and strong winds. The plane overshot the runway injuring 92 passengers on board.

Norman Manley International Airport operations director Stanley Smith told reporters that an underwater electrical fault in November disrupted the 1,300-foot guiding lights.

According to Smith, pilots had been advised about the outage and that there had been no other incidents before the American Airlines incident. Smith added that while the runway was fully lit during flight 331's approach to the Kingston airport the windy and heavy rain conditions made the approach "less desirable."

Airport vice president, Mark Williams told the Associated Press that, "The airport has been fully operational since the outage of the approach lights ... so we wouldn't presume that would be a cause. But clearly the investigation is still preliminary."

American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Pantin declined to comment on runway conditions because the investigation is still being conducted.

Jamaican and U.S. authorities are continuing their investigation, including whether the pilot could have avoided the accident by aborting the landing and circling for another attempt.

Large aircraft were being diverted to Montego Bay after the American Airlines incident, but have since been allowed to land at Kingston again. The approach lights are not expected to be operating again until January.