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Runway excursions, Part 2: Minimising the likelihood and consequences of runway excursions, An Australian perspective
Runway excursions, Part 2: Minimising the likelihood and consequences of runway excursions, An Australian perspective
Summary
While most runway excursions are relatively minor with no
serious injuries or aircraft damage occurring, they do have the
potential to pose a serious risk to public safety and
infrastructure. This has been illustrated by several significant
runway overruns around the world in 2007 and 2008, resulting in
hundreds of on-board fatalities, as well as ground fatalities and
significant property damage in communities adjacent to
airports.
Further analysis of the Ascend World Aircraft Accident Summary
set of 120 runway excursions on landing involving commercial jet
aircraft between 1998 and 2007 (used in the first report in this
series), was performed to map the distance that aircraft overran or
veered off the runway. Most aircraft stopped within 1,000 ft of the
runway end, and within the extended runway edges.
Preventative risk controls are the most important way to reduce
the likelihood and consequences of runway excursions. These include
reinforcement of safe approach techniques, pre-landing risk
assessments, line-oriented flight training, clear policies on
go-arounds, quality runway surfaces with safety features such as
grooving and surface texturing, runway lighting, and indicators of
remaining runway length through distance remaining signs and
cockpit alert systems.
If these preventative risk controls fail, recovery risk controls
are an important 'last line of defence' to mitigate severe
consequences if a runway excursion does occur. Recovery risk
controls include runway strips, runway end safety areas, soft
ground arrestor beds, and public safety areas. Telephone surveys of
43 major airports found that runway end safety areas in Australia
meet or will soon meet Civil Aviation Safety Authority
requirements. A large majority of Australian airports had good
quality runway surfaces that reduced the risk of a runway excursion
occurring in the first place.
Download Complete Document:
ar2008018_2 [
PDF: 2.76MB]
Type: Research and Analysis Report
Author(s): Taylor, R. P. Godley, S. T.
Publication Date: 26/06/2009
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