Navigators taking off from or landing on remote, radarless landing strips around the country currently must rely on their eyesight to guide them around hills, volcanoes and irregular terrain a difficult task when fog, clouds or heavy rain obstruct their view. Civil Aviation Director Roberto Alfaro explained that the devices differ from radar, which requires a person on the ground to operate. Other rural airports, such as those in Barra del Colorado on the north Caribbean coast and Tambor on the southernmost tip of the Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast, will also receive devices, as will the Caribbean-slope region of Paso de la Palma, near the vast Braulio Carrillo National Park, where tricky wind currents have downed many light planes over the years. The devices will work only if planes are equipped with a companion device for receiving the signals. Civil Aviation studies found that only 29 percent of the 77 aircraft inspected last year were equipped with certified devices for capturing navigational signals.
Routine inspections comprise a third part of the plan.
The plan establishes a set inspection schedule that complies with international regulations. Costa Rican law gives Civil Aviation the authority to revoke the operating licenses or otherwise impose sanctions on companies that don t fulfill safety requirements. It is always the sign of a complete system breakdown a deficiency on the company s part, a lack of dedication by the company s directors, improper maintenance and planning. Companies need to stop what they re doing and retrain their personnel, because we ve already seen the results of their current actions, or inaction. Civil Aviation-initiated training programs are a final part of the plan.