Pavement Failure RWY 16

[Peter Konnecke]

Was listening in to center freqs this afternoon and ATIS for Sydney was reporting "pavement failure RWY 16" and "RWY 25 for all arrivals and departures" at around 14:30.

Soon after it was all fixed up and 16R and 16L opened up again for arrivals and departures.

Does anyone know what the problem was ? Failure seems such a dramatic word. It didn't mention 16R or 16L.

Thanks
Peter
(my first post)

[Nigel C]

Hi Peter,

See http://yssyforum.net/board/showthread.php?t=5460

A pavement failure usually means there is a defect with the pavement that may affect safe aircraft operations, such as a developing (or perhaps developed) pothole, delamination of the pavement, or other problem that has the potential to cause FOD or even possibly structural damage to the tyres or aircraft, such as a light fitting lifting.
Most failures can usually have a temporary repair put in place within 30-45 minutes, depending on its size and location. More permanent repairs are typically done during the curfew period.