GCAA installs new navigation system

Accra, July 15, GNA - The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has installed a new navigation system that would improve safety in the Accra Flight Information Region, which comprises the air spaces of Ghana, Togo and Benin.

The state-of-the art Doppler Very High Frequency Omni-Range (DVOR) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) cost over one million dollars, Mr Bismarck Boateng, Director of Air Traffic Safety Engineering, GCAA, Mr Bismarck Boateng, Director of Air Traffic Safety Engineering, GCAA, told the GNA in Accra on Friday.

A Flight Calibration Exercise by the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) Flight Check Aircraft on July, 1 certified the newly installed equipment for normal operation without any restrictions.

The DVOR/DME is an electronic navigation system which gives bearing or electronic tracks, direction as well as distance information to aircrafts.

It also has an incorporated automatic terminal information system with the ability to broadcast vital aeronautical information directly to pilots, such as weather and airport situational awareness, without necessarily relying on Air Traffic Control.

Mr Boateng said the newly installed equipment would greatly enhance safety in the Accra flight information region.

“The commissioning of this new DVOR is a credit to GCAA’s efforts at ensuring safety and security in the sub-region,” he said, and gave the assurance of continuous and quality maintenance by Air Traffic Safety Engineering Personnel (ATSEP).

The facility can be remotely monitored and controlled from the GCAA headquarters. The DVOR/DME is in dual configuration and automatically switches to the other part when one side goes off, ensuring continuous service.

Mr Boateng said navigation systems such as the DVOR/DME were essential since they enabled a pilot to precisely navigate the aircraft safely and efficiently from one point to another under all weather conditions.

The equipment is to replace an obsolete facility which was installed in the early 1990s to last for 12 years but had remained in service for over 20 years.

Mr Boateng said factors that necessitated the new installation included lack of spare parts for the existing one due to its outmoded state.

Even though the old one is still functional, the encroachment of sites around the DVOR disturbed the transmissions from the equipment due to relative height of its antenna, which is three metres.

The antenna height of the new DVOR has been raised to eight metres above ground.

The Old DVOR/DME would be used to train Air Traffic Safety Engineering Personnel at the GCAA Electronics Training School at La.