RELACIÓN DE LA MRPI CON PROCESOS DE METACOGNICIÓN

Another option that is investigated is to divert to Fairbanks (PAFA) (3.3.3.a). First the impact of the decision to divert to this airport has to be examined (3.3.3.b). Afterwards this option will be evaluated (3.3.3.c).

3.3.3.a Fairbanks

PAFA is a major airport which is situated in the center of Alaska and in northern direction of PANC (Figure 3.5). The table below (Table 3.7) describes the operating information of PAFA.

Figure 3.5; Places of PANC and PAFA

PAFA

Opening hours

24 hours a day

Elevation

439 ft

2.

1.

1. PANC 2. PAFA

Fire and rescue

ARFF index C

Fuel types available

100LL, JET-A1

Parking

Hangars

Airframe service

MAJOR

Powerplant Service

MAJOR

Bottled oxygen

NONE

Bulk oxygen

HIGH/LOW

Table 3.7; Operating information of PAFA

In order to fly the most efficient route to PAFA, the aircraft can maintain the planned route to PANC. It is necessary to calculate the remaining fuel onboard. When flying the current route, the aircraft will land at runway 20 R with EFOB 28607 kg. The final reserve fuel, which is the minimum fuel that has to be on board, is 4040 kg. The information about runway 20 R is given in Table 3.8. According to the METAR and TAF, there will be light snowfall with a wind speed of 3 kts, which varies in direction. According to the landing chart of the Boeing 747-400 ERF with a landing weight of 288909 kg and flaps 30, with one or two deactivated brakes and on a wet surface, needs a runway of 2600m (Appendix XXXII). The ruts and ridges do not make the runway contaminated so there is no problem with landing on runway 20R, even with one or two brakes deactivated.

Table 3.8; Runway 20 L information

3.3.3.b Issues Fairbanks airport

Fairbanks is located only 420 kilometers to the north of Anchorage, which means a flight time of 30 minutes when flying at short trip cruise altitude. The Boeing 747-400 ERF with the GE-90 should wait at Fairbanks until the ash cloud is blown away. It is possible for the horses and the rest of the cargo to be transported on the road. However, the long distance will take approximately six and a half hours to drive. Transportation over land is difficult in Alaska due to the limited infrastructure. There is no railway in the area which connects Anchorage to Fairbanks so the only option is transporting the cargo by road. The transportation of the GE-90 by road could be a problem due to its size and weight. Narrow streets, bridges, tunnels and viaducts can slow down or even block the transportation of the GE-90. When the horse trailers start driving when the decision is made to divert to Fairbanks, the aircraft arrives three hours earlier than the trailers due to the long driving distance. The advantage of minimizing the delay is lost through the long driving distance. Waiting on Fairbanks and taking off again with the horses is a quicker solution, and doesn’t require additional transportation costs.

When diverting to Fairbanks, the aircraft will land at 01:15 UTC. This means that here is slightly less than three hours left to prepare the arrival of the plane. A main deck loader is available to unload the horses immediate after the landing. Also two hotel rooms need to be arranged for the flight crew. When these primary facilities are fixed it is possible to divert to Fairbanks, the aircraft can maintain the same route until waypoint ADREW. Just before the next waypoint (Fort Yukon) the aircraft begins its final decent to Fairbanks. After the landing and a checkout of approximately 1.5 hours, the crew can rest for about 8 hours in their hotel. When using the work and rest time table the maximum flight period is 6 hours and 30 minutes which is more than enough to fly the short trip to PANC. The flight is roughly 250 nautical miles. At 12:00 UTC the ash cloud has moved away, so the plane could depart approximately at 11:15 UTC. After the take-off the aircraft can pick up immediately the route to Anchorage. The short flight requires less than 10.000kg of fuel. No alternate fuel is required as the trip is shorter than 6 hours and Anchorage has several available runways, and the final reserve

Runway 20 L

Runway

2L/20R

Dimensions

11800 x 150 ft. / 3597 x 46 m

Instrument approach

ILS/DME

Visual slope indicator

4-light PAPI on left (3.00 degrees glide path)

fuel is still 4040kg. No additional fuel is required on top of the EFOB when landing on Fairbanks. An estimation of the costs is made in Table 3.9.

Cost

Value

Extra information

Landing fee PAFA

$2.020,3

$2.22 per 1000lbs MTOW

Parking fee PAFA

$308,56

Price for wide-body aircraft

Fee enplaned passengers PAFA

$7,88

$1.97 per enplaned passenger

Rent main deck loader PAFA

$400

Offloading and on loading estimated at $200 each.

Rent horseboxes and other

supplies for the horses

$1.400,-

$100,- per horse

Rent rest room pilots

$150

Aircraft on ground costs

$42.000

$4.200 per hour

Fuel costs

$0

EFOB on Fairbanks is plenty.

Total costs

$46.286,74

Total costs euro’s

€30.994,01

Table 3.9; Additional costs option waiting at PAFA

3.3.3.c Conclusion option Fairbanks

Fairbanks is a good option because this alternate is on the route to Anchorage. The advantage of this is that there is enough fuel on-board to land at Fairbanks and fly to anchorage without refueling the aircraft. This means that there are no extra fuel costs and the delay is minimized. The crew has more than enough time to rest so the workload of the crew is low.