Subang airport closed after lightning strikes runway
Trang Bui
The Star | Wed, May 5 2010
Lightning on Tuesday created three holes in the middle of the runway,
each one averaging 60cm in diameter and 15cm deep.
Subang airport closed after lightning strikes runway
PETALING JAYA - The Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport in Subang was
partially closed for an hour after lightning damaged its runway during
a thunderstorm.
Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul
Rahman said lightning on Wednesday created three holes in the middle
of the runway, each one averaging 60cm in diameter and 15cm deep.
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“By 6.15pm, the holes had been patched up and the airport was fully
operational again,” Azharuddin told The Star.
No aircraft was struck by lightning during the storm yesterday, he
said.
A Meteorological Department spokesman said severe thunderstorms were
normal during the inter-monsoon season.
“Rain will be accompanied by lightning and thunder. The storm also
causes a strong downdraft, making it very windy,” he said.
It rained from 4pm to 6pm yesterday, pouring heavily for the first
hour before easing in the second hour, he added.
Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang was among passengers stranded at the
airport due to the lightning strike.
His flight to Penang was originally scheduled to depart at 5.30pm, but
was postponed to 8.30pm.
The heavy downpour also damaged the broadcast room of the
International Broadcast Centre at Putra Stadium here where players
were training before the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals this month.
A portion of the ceiling caved in in the 5.15pm incident.
Building and maintenance workers immediately rushed to the scene.
No one was injured as the room was empty when the incident happened.
The rain also caused massive traffic jams and flash floods in several
areas of the city.
Full link: http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/368580/Subang_airport_closed_after_lightning_strikes_runway.html
Bapak Petir
I was in Malaysia last week and can confirm that this is one of the
worst place in the world in terms of lightning activitity. A lamp pole
on the highway from KL downtown to KLIA airport was struck by
lightning just in front of our car with some incandescent melted parts
of metal falling down on the highway.
Then all flights were delayed at the airport due ti the heavy
thunderstorm: lightning discharges all around the airport and very
poor visibility due to the heavy downpour.
Apparently, protection systems worked well (French ESE systems visible
on the terminals) because all systems in the terminals were safe and
we fortunately did not experience power cut or computer shutdown...
otherwise flights might have been much delayed.
Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley are definitely the place to be for
storm chasers and lightning addicts !
> Full link:http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/368580/Subang_airport_closed_after...