Auckland Airport announce new $4 million disabled aircraft recovery kit

Auckland Airport (AKL) has announced its newest equipment, a $4m disabled aircraft recovery kit (DAR). The DAR can lift and tow large passenger aircraft if it becomes immobile.

“As the gateway for 70-80 per cent of people travelling into and out of New Zealand, closing our single runway impacts the country as a whole, with flow-on effects to travel, trade and business,” Auckland Airport Chief Operations Officer Chloe Surridge said.

“It’s kit we hope we don’t have to use in a real-life scenario, but it’s important we continue to invest in the resilience of Auckland Airport’s operations. It’s fit-for-purpose-equipment, with a highly trained team on standby to swiftly clear the runway and get airport activity back to normal in case we need it.”

Until now, AKL would have had to call for the equivalent kit from Sydney or Singapore and possibly shut down the single-runway airport.

How does the disabled aircraft recovery kit works?

Manufactured in the Netherlands, the DAR is the first of its kind in New Zealand. 
“It looks a bit like a giant, plane-sized version of the jack you have in the boot of your car for when you get a flat tyre,” Ms Surridge said.

It consists of three sets of high-pressure airbags that can lift six metres high and 30 tonnes each, and two sets of low-pressure bags that lift 40 tonnes each, an aircraft lifting beam with strops and a recovery trailer. 

Nineteen people from AKL’s emergency services, engineering services, airfield and operational excellence teams underwent a week of intensive training at the Resqtec training centre in the Czech Republic on how to use the kit.

“I was proud to learn that our team now holds the unofficial record for safely completing the final training scenario, recovering a Boeing 737 aircraft, in the fastest time to date, shaving ten minutes off the previous best,” Ms Surridge commented.

“As an airport, we work together with agencies, airlines, engineering services and ground handlers within a broad emergency services group and this equipment further supports our aviation community. AKL’s DAR kit can be transported by air so it can be moved nationally if required”. 

The Disabled Aircraft Recovery Team (DART) will undertake ongoing training to keep up the skills needed to use the kit by using a decommissioned Boeing 737 freight plane relocated to the team’s aircraft search and rescue training area.