Fine For Flying Kites Near Airport
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - From Royal Brunei Airlines aircraft to Royal Brunei Air Force helicopters to Sultan's flight aircraft, kites and their threads have caused problems to equipment and have posed danger to lives.

Several incidences of kite threads entangled to aircraft and helicopters were highlighted yesterday by officers representing various agencies from the aviation industry to village leaders, who have been told to inform village residents especially with the upcoming school holiday when kite-flying will be rampant, about the danger posed to aircraft by kites.

The public has been cautioned that flying kites around the five-kilometre radius of the aircraft and helicopter take off and landing sites is punishable under Chapter 113 of the Air Navigating Order, and a fine not exceeding $3,000 awaits offenders.

The Acting Director of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Awg Hj Mat Nor, said though to date the safety of aircraft at Brunei's air space is at the level that we could be proud of, the Ministry of Communications through DCA and aviation organisations from time to time has taken concerted efforts to upgrade the safety of the air space.

"However, lately DCA has received many complaints from aircraft and helicopter pilots on kites seen at take-off and landing areas at the airport and helicopter take-off and landing sites.

"It is alarming and could pose a danger if a kite gets sucked into the engine of an aircraft and its thread gets entangled to crucial parts of the control equipment," he said.

Meanwhile, the Acting Head of Operations of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Lim Kian Khiong, said among the villages within the five-kilometre radius where kite-flying is prohibited include Kg. Mata-Mata, Kg. Rimba, Kg. Gadong, Kg. Perpindahan Terunjing, Kg. Perpindahan Lambak Kanan, villages in Kg. Ayer and Kg. Jerudong.

He said DCA has received reports from RBA through the `Mandatory Occurrence Report'. On September 1, 2005, an Airbus pilot saw three kites while landing. On September 5, 2005, a 767 aircraft pilot found a 120-feet nylon thread entangled to the back of the right wing of the aircraft after it landed.

On September 13, 2005, a thread alto got entangled on an Airbus while it landed. DCA also received similar reports from helicopter operators.

He added that every year, the DCA receives applications to hold `Pesta Kikik' or a kite-flying festival in conjunction with His Majesty's birthday celebration at Pantai Tungku, and the department duly informs aircraft and helicopter operators about the event.

Meanwhile, Major Hj Mohd Harris from His Majesty's Sultan Flight said that most flights are operated 'inpromptu'. "We fly at an altitude not exceeding 1,000 feet. We fly as low as 200 feet, but we have experienced kites being flown at more than 1,500 feet.

"We have experienced thread entanglement to aircraft and helicopter engines and in one case, a thread got entangled to a sensitive area called control rod," he added.

He sought cooperation from village chiefs to inform the residents about the dangers of kite flying.

Capt. Pg. Hj Mohd Bakri, an RBA pilot, highlighted a scenario if a kite measuring two feet in length and two feet in breadth covers the front screen of an aircraft measuring two feet in length and four feet in breadth, "it would certainly block the view of the pilot travelling at the speed of 150 to 160 miles an hour".

Hj Rani, from the Engineering Department of RBA, said the damage on flights and to aircraft equipment from wayward kites is too costly to repair.

If a kite blocks the sensory device like the sensor for altitude outside the aircraft, "it would be a problem as the instrument will show zero reading in the cockpit", he said.

Hj Rani also said that an equipment to measure engine input outside the aircraft could not be blocked even by ashes, let alone kites, so does the antenna which is made of soft aluminium and covered with fibre. If a nylon thread gets stuck on the antenna, communication would be affected.

He said the cost of buying a new engine is around US$6 million while to overhaul one would cost around B$3 million.

Major (U) Hishamuddin of the Royal Brunei Air Force shared his experience of helicopter rotor and its pillar getting entangled by kite threads that forced one of the helicopters to make an emergency landing at a school field.

He also pointed to the airport, airfields, army camps in Rimba, Muara and Berakas as well as the RIPAS Hospital, which is used to receive patients transported by helicopters, as areas that should be free from kite-flying activities.  -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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