Runway safety is concerned with reducing harm that could occur on an aircraft

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

. Safety means avoiding incorrect presence ( incursion) of aircraft, inappropriate exits (

excursion An excursion is a trip, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportatio ...

) and use of the wrong runway due to confusion. The runway condition is a runway's current status due to meteorological conditions and air safety.

Definitions of runway accidents

Several terms fall under the

flight safety Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...

topic of runway safety, including incursion, excursion, and confusion.

Runway incursion

Runway incursion A runway incursion is an Aviation accidents and incidents, aviation incident involving improper positioning of vehicles or people on any runway, airport runway or its Critical_area_(aeronautics), protected area. When an incursion involves an '' ...

involves an aircraft, and a second aircraft, vehicle, or person. It is defined by

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

and the U.S. FAA as "Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take off of aircraft."FAA Runway Safety
Retrieved 2009-04-02

Runway excursion

Runway excursion A runway excursion is a runway safety incident in which an aircraft makes an inappropriate exit from the runway. This happens mainly due to late landings or inappropriate runway choice. There are several types of runway excursions: * A depa ...

is an incident involving only a single aircraft, where it makes an inappropriate exit from the runway. This can happen because of pilot error, poor weather, or a fault with the aircraft. A runway overrun is a type of excursion where the aircraft is unable to stop before the end of the runway. Runway excursion is the most frequent type of landing accident, slightly ahead of runway incursion."Runway excursion
Flight Safety Foundation" FlightGlobal.com, Retrieved 2008-12-14. For runway accidents recorded between 1995 and 2007, 96% were of the 'excursion' type.

Confusion

Runway confusion is when a single aircraft uses the wrong runway, or a

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...

, for takeoff or landing. Runway confusions are considered a subset of runway incursions. Three major factors that increase the risk of runway confusion include airport complexity, close proximity of runway thresholds, and joint use of a runway as a taxiway. Examples of runway confusion incidents include

Singapore Airlines Flight 006 Singapore Airlines Flight 006 was an international scheduled Airline, passenger flight from Changi Airport, Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport via Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now known as Taoyuan Internation ...

Comair Flight 5191 Comair Flight 5191 was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006, at around 06:07 EDT (10:07 UTC), the Bombardier CRJ100ER crashed while attempting to ta ...

and

Air Canada Flight 759 On July 7, 2017, an Airbus A320-211 operating as Air Canada Flight 759 was nearly involved in an accident at San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County, California, United States. The flight, which originated at Toronto Pearson Int ...

Monitoring of runway safety

The U.S. FAA publishes an annual report on runway safety issues, available from the FAA website. New systems designed to improve runway safety, such as

Airport Movement Area Safety System Airport surveillance and broadcast systems are a set of runway-safety tools that display aircraft on and near an airport. The United States National Transportation Safety Board recommends installation at all major airports as soon as possible, as ...

(AMASS) and

Runway Awareness and Advisory System The Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) is an electronic detection system that notifies aircraft flight crews on the ground of their position relative to their allocated runway. It is a type of Runway Situation Awareness Tool (RSAT). Overvi ...

(RAAS), are discussed in the report. AMASS narrowly prevented a serious collision in the

2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion The 2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion occurred around 1:36 p.m. PDT on May 26, 2007, when SkyWest Airlines Flight 5741, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia turboprop aircraft, nearly collided with Republic Airways Flight 491 ...

. In the 1990s, the U.S. FAA conducted a study about a civilian version of 3D military

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to Aircraft flight control system, control the Spacecra ...

to prevent jetliner catastrophes Some instruments for runway safety include ILS,

LLWAS A low-level windshear alert system (LLWAS) measures average surface wind speed and direction using a network of remote sensor stations, situated near runways and along approach or departure corridors at an airport. Wind shear is the generic term ...

microwave landing system The microwave landing system (MLS) is an all-weather, precision radio guidance system intended to be installed at large airports to assist aircraft in landing, including 'blind landings'. MLS enables an approaching aircraft to determine when it ...

transponder landing system A transponder landing system (TLS) is an all-weather, precision landing system that uses existing airborne Transponder (aviation), transponder and instrument landing system (ILS) equipment to create a precision approach at a location where an I ...

, and

airport surveillance and broadcast systems Airport surveillance and broadcast systems are a set of runway-safety tools that display aircraft on and near an airport. The United States National Transportation Safety Board recommends installation at all major airports as soon as possible, as ...

Meteorological conditions

The "runway condition" is a runway's current status in relation to current meteorological conditions and air safety. *Dry: the surface of the runway is clear of water, snow or ice. *Damp: change of color on the surface due to moisture. *Wet: the surface of the runway is soaked but there are no significant patches of standing water. *Water patches: patches of standing water are visible. *Flooded: there is extensive standing water. According to the JAR definition, a runway with water patches or that is flooded is considered to be contaminated.

Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment (TALPA) is a method used by airport operators to determine runway conditions for takeoff and landing. It produces a Field Condition report that allows pilots to assess braking action when the runway is not ...

(TALPA) was introduced in 2016, whereby airport operators report Runway Condition Codes (RWYCC) for take-off and landing.

2020s initiatives

In response to an increase in runway incursions, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched several initiatives aimed at improving runway safety. One notable effort is the Runway Incursion Mitigation (RIM) program, which focuses on identifying and addressing specific risk factors at airports with a history of incursions. This program has successfully mitigated risks at numerous locations by enhancing signage, improving taxiway markings, and reconfiguring airport layouts to reduce confusion among pilots and ground vehicles. As of 2023, the FAA has identified 131 unmitigated RIM locations across 80 airports and has implemented mitigation strategies at 99 of these sites, resulting in a significant reduction in runway incursions

References

{{Reflist Aviation safety Airport engineering Airport infrastructure