By akademiotoelektronik, 05/10/2022

Etampes-Mondésir prison – aeroVFR Facebook Flux RSS Twitter

ADP invents the concept of an aerodrome-prison for outside visitors.

Last mid-March, a pilot arriving by air from another aerodrome landed at Etampes-Mondésir. This early Sunday morning before a weather degradation, the goal is to deposit an aircraft in the parking lot of the local workshop, so that it is taken into account from Monday morning at first hour by the mechanics.

With the aircraft parked and covered, the pilot wanted to leave the aerodrome right-of-way, having planned to be picked up by car a few moments later. The door near the workshop is locked. Never mind, there are other accesses on the ground, in particular the door giving access to the grass parking lot for visitor planes, or the door giving access to the petrol pump.

But all are locked. In fact, they all “benefit” from a digicode installed on the handle of each door. Vigipirate plan helping, we can understand such a protection not really indestructible when we can quickly cut the fence nearby... but let's admit, the system is already put into practice on many grounds.

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These then give the "key" to the crews to get out of the right-of-way, usually with an airside sign telling the pilots to enter the code 1-2-3-4-5 or 5-4 -3-2-1, or the terrain frequency, the VFR transponder code or the distress frequency to operate the handle. But at Etampes-Mondésir, if the sign on the outside is there to remind you that the airport zone is reserved, on the runway side, the sign is completely white.

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The pilot having not practiced this aerodrome recently, due to the Covid period, it is said that the new system is being installed. Fortunately, some clubs having opened their premises, it will finally be possible for him to leave the grip of the field. A few days later, an email to the head of traffic will not give any serious lead to bring the file to a successful conclusion, as air traffic control is not intended to manage ground access. It is therefore necessary to find the right interlocutor in the administrative maze to reach the service concerned.

The VAC form giving a contact to the aerodrome operator, namely the ADP group, a phone call was then made to obtain the email address of the service concerned by this problem. Thus, on April 2, an email was sent to ADP recalling the problem encountered when leaving Etampes-Mondésir, giving solutions already used in other areas. The same day, the head of the service replied with the following message: “Information had been made to my knowledge from users. She appears perfectible. I am approaching our teams to correct the situation. Cordially ".

You would think that the file will find a solution in the following weeks. But on June 8, more than 2 months after the email exchange, the situation remains the same. Doors locked, no code displayed to be able to leave the grip of the land. The tower being regularly closed 15 days out of 30 on average is not the solution, especially since its access is prohibited (it is clearly displayed on the door on the aerodrome side!).

The answer of April 2 announcing that the file will be taken in hand being only a very classic communication effect these days (ready-made answer and case immediately closed without follow-up in the drawers), it is clear that it is necessary to add a ladle, especially when the manager of the aerodrome is called ADP and claims the title of "world leader in the design, construction and operation of airports". That's telling you.

While the base users may have been informed of the existence of these digicodes with the related codes, this is totally useless since they have direct access to the slopes through the premises of their clubs located on the platform. form. The users really concerned are external aerial visitors, alias prisoners.

At a time when the smallest DTO must put in place a security policy, or even carry out a risk analysis at the level of its activity, at a time when the DSAC tells us about the State Security Plan (PSE) applied to general aviation, an international industrial group like ADP is not able to imagine the following scenarios:

– a pilot and his crew diverted at the end of the day, on a weekday, following less than optimal weather conditions. The plane lands, goes to the visitor parking lot but the whole crew... sleeps there because they are unable to leave the aerodrome. Thank you ADP!

– a pilot coming to pick up a plane (having exited through one of the clubs or the local workshop when he arrived a few days earlier) is made unable to reach his machine unless, by the most coincidence, a club is open at the time he comes. What service !

– one can imagine a more dramatic scenario, with an accident and the impossibility for the injured people to leave the field to seek help if all the clubs are then closed – situation possible during the week, depending on the weather conditions. Admittedly, a phone call to the emergency room – unless the Orange networks are down… – and the firefighters won't waste time cutting the fence, but is this an acceptable solution?

ADP having decided to stop the ATC services at Etampes next July, with a switch to self-information or the setting up of an AFIS service, it would be good if ADP's withdrawal - on this ground "recovered by sleight of hand when Guyancourt was closed because it was well beyond ADP's scope of activity at the time – this land was not transformed into a prison for outside visitors.♦♦♦

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