EMAS Technology Stops Jet in Chicago

Engineered Material Arresting System halts Gulfstream G150 after it overruns a wet executive airport runway.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, September 04, 2025 at 10:20 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Gulfstream G150 [Courtesy: Gulfstream Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

A Gulfstream G150 overran a wet runway at Chicago Executive Airport (KPWK) but was safely stopped by an Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS).
The two pilots, the sole occupants of the aircraft, were uninjured, and the EMAS prevented the jet from going onto a busy multilane road.
The incident occurred on a 5,000-foot wet Runway 34 after the jet touched down late, and the FAA is currently investigating.

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Runway technology contributed to a positive outcome Wednesday when a Gulfstream G150 went off the end of the runway at Chicago Executive Airport (KPWK) but was brought to a stop by an Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) before it went through a fence and onto a busy street.

Public safety officials note two pilots were the sole occupants of the aircraft, and neither was injured when the business jet rolled through the runway safety area and a fence, coming to a stop just short of crossing a multilane road that runs perpendicular to the runway.