CHENNAI: It seems pilots are wary of using the second runway in case they face an emergency situation in the cockpit.On November 4, a Rajahmundry-Chennai IndiGo flight with a failed engine made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport. The plane was scheduled to land on the second runway but the pilot asked for the main runway and landed on it. Air traffic controller said it was thedecision of the pilot and a reason was not specified.Though the second runway’s length was enough for an ATR plane to land safely with a single engine, it appears that the pilot wanted the airport authorities to open the main runway which is lengthier. The second runway is 3.1km, but only 2.1km can be used.The pilot must have chosen the main runway for safety reasons, another pilot said.The incident is an indication thatthe airportisleftwith a short runway which cannot handle emergency landings because most of the flights during the day use the second runway as the main one is closed for taxiway work. This also means that overflying jets too may not be able to use Chennai as an emergency airport.This may become a problem as the runway will not be able to handle a narrow-body plane like A320 or B737 facing an emergency.A senior AAI official said the work was being carried out in such a way so that the main runway could be opened at a short notice in case of an emergency.Former pilot and air safety expert captain Mohan Ranganathan said, “Pilots feel unsafe because the runway has a downwardslope and an upward slope. There is no safety buffer also. Though the runway is long enough for an ATR plane, many may feel landing could be difficult especially if there is a tail wind.” He alsosaidtherewas no instrument landing system for the runway and precision landing was not possible.

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