Press Release
Issued by ABS Jets.
January 14, 2014
ABS Jets was recently chosen by Czech aircraft manufacturer LET to assist in the flight planning for a series of test flights in Nepal.
Successful landings at airports high in the mountains of the Himalayan republic may be considered a confirmation that aircraft, crew and those who did the flight planning earned a special status of being the most competent to handle difficult circumstances anywhere.
Jomson Airport in Nepal is considered one of the world's most dangerous airfields. It has an asphalt runway of 531 m by 19 m; elevation 2,682 m (1,742 ft by 62 ft; elevation 8,800 ft). Further tests were done at Lukla Airport with a runway of 460 by 20 m elevation 2,800 m (1510 by 66 ft; 9,200 ft elevation) with a 12% gradient. There is no prospect of a successful go-around on short final due to the terrain; on one end of the runway the terrain goes steep up, at other end it goes steep down. Mountain airports in Nepal are known to give the shivers to those flying there.
“It was an extraordinary challenge for our Operational Control Center OCC at ABS Jets to do the flight planning and assist in various support aspects,” says Jan Kralik, ABS Jets' director of ground operations. “It is like a test of our capabilities and we give it a complete effort to prove that we can successfully handle any kind of assignment that is given to us.”
The aircraft that were tested are the Let L-410 Turbolet, a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft. The L-410 operates in almost all countries worldwide. Next year the aircraft manufacturer company will deliver two new L410UVP-E20 aircraft to the Nepalese airline Goma Air which focuses operation in STOL airstrip of mid and far western parts of Nepal. The test flights in Nepal were carried out in cooperation with the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority. After the successful evaluations the aircraft received the type certificate from the CAA.
“ABS Jets is proud to support local companies to be successful abroad,” says Vladimir Petak, ceo of ABS Jets. “We especially appreciate that our company is chosen for aviation support projects that are of a very demanding nature.”
ABS Jets will be exhibiting at the NBAA Scheduler's and Dispatchers Conference in New Orleans, USA, January 14-17. Jan Kralik, ABS Jets' director of ground operations and Michal Pazourek, chief Operations Control Center and chief dispatcher will be available at booth # 152 for any questions that attendees or exhibitors may have. Michal was recipient of the 2013 NBAA 'Aviation Support Services Safety Award' for contributing to the safety of business aircraft operations a total of three or more years without an accident involving damage to property or injury to persons.
