Runway safety


Runway safety is concerned with reducing harm that could occur on an aircraft runway. Safety means avoiding incorrect presence of aircraft, inappropriate exits 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 topic of runway safety, including incursion, excursion, and confusion.

Runway incursion

Runway incursion involves an aircraft, and a second aircraft, vehicle, or person. It is defined by ICAO 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."

Runway excursion

Runway excursion 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. 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, 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, Comair Flight 5191 and Air Canada Flight 759.

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 and Runway Awareness and Advisory System, are discussed in the report. AMASS narrowly prevented a serious collision in the 2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion.
In the 1990s, the U.S. FAA conducted a study about a civilian version of 3D military thrust vectoring to prevent jetliner catastrophes
Some instruments for runway safety include ILS, LLWAS, microwave landing system, transponder landing system, Runway Awareness and Advisory System, and airport surveillance and broadcast systems.

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

2020s initiatives

In response to an increase in runway incursions, the Federal Aviation Administration launched several initiatives aimed at improving runway safety. One notable effort is the Runway Incursion Mitigation 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