Airport Radar--NOT

[Hound]

Incredible but true, the radar is not functioning currently at either local airport and hasn't been for awhile.

La Nacion link also provides a video interview.

http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1071042&pagina_chiamante=index.php

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/informaciongeneral/nota.asp?nota_id=894983&pid=2281416&toi=5263
http://gridskipper.com/travel/buenos-aires/no-radar-love-in-buenos-aires-246160.php

[Hunt99]

Geez - Argentina is truly a banana republic, isn't it? I would hope never to have to land at EZE during a thunderstorm. It could be extraordinarily dangerous - especially at the end of a long flight from the US where fuel supplies aren't high, and the ability to circle around and wait out a storm is limited.

[BadMan]

I must admit, this is fucking rediculous, I was out yesterday and some portenos were talking about it, even they thought it was fucking embarassing, not to mention dangerous.

Bad

[Sky Ryder]

Hunt,

Just so that you will feel safe, the airport having or not having radar will have no effect on how long you have to circle to avoid a thunderstorm at EZE. The airport's radar does not do a good job of showing weather in any event. The aircraft radar is designed to do perform this task. I can just about guarantee you that no pilot will take the word of someone on the ground about the intensity or exitstence of a storm over what they are showing on their onboard equipment.

As far as the safety aspects, they have gone so overboard to keep the aircraft apart based upon time and with the lack of air traffic relative to the U. S. The possibiity of a mid-air is very minute. Also all commericial aircraft should have and use equipment onboard to help prevent this problem.

The real issue are the delays and inefficeniences that are caused by not being able to use radar to move the traffic, ie. Burn more fuel, ticket prices go up.

[Hunt99]

SR, thanks for sharing this info. I'm not a pilot, and I don't even play one on TV. It's good that somebody who knows what he's talking about chimed in here.

[Member #3314]

The night I left we were late getting out and they said that the radar had been hit by lightning and that they had "someone working on it"

That was March 2nd.

[Sportsman]

After all passengers boarded, my outbound flight was delayed one hour on 5 MAR sitting at the terminal. The pilot announced that the radar was damaged by the storm on Thursday, 1 MAR.

[Coach 245]

When my wingman and I left on March 7th, we were told the radar had just been repaired and was working again that evening. I hope they can keep the bandaids holding everything together for our arrival in May!

Coach