Runway Risk: How to Cut the Hazards

Friday, September 19, 2014 at 07:12 PM ET

Verified

** EMAS beds are being installed at the runway ends
of scores of U.S. airports. Made of blocks of
lightweight, crushable cement, they are designed to
safely stop airplanes that overrun runways.**

Key Takeaways:

Runway excursions, though less frequent than runway incursions, are significantly more dangerous and reveal a critical gap in current pilot training for these catastrophic events.
Key factors contributing to excursions include late rejected takeoffs (after V1), and unstabilized approaches where pilots often fail to initiate a go-around due to "normalcy bias" or pressure.
Mitigation efforts include the FAA's installation of Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) beds at airports, which have successfully prevented overruns.
Pilots must enhance their understanding of aircraft performance, conduct thorough preflight planning, and prioritize initiating a go-around for any unstabilized approach to effectively reduce excursion risks.

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On Sept. 29, 2013, a Cessna Citation CJ2 landing at Santa Monica Airport near Los Angeles suddenly veered off the runway and crashed through a hangar, bursting into flames and killing all aboard.

Three months later, on Jan. 5, 2014, the pilots of a Challenger 601 landing with a strong, gusting tailwind in Aspen, Colorado, lost control and crashed next to the runway, killing one of the crew members and critically injuring two others.