The Many Factors That Lead to Runway Overruns

Stabilized approaches are critical to mitigating the risks.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, January 02, 2023 at 02:08 PM ET

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2011 aircraft excursion at Munich International. [Credit: German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation]

Key Takeaways:

Runway overruns are a frequent and serious aviation incident, predominantly caused by unstabilized approaches during landing, often compounded by factors like wet runways, tailwinds, and excess landing speed.
Thorough preflight planning, a deep understanding of aircraft performance under varying environmental conditions, and avoiding complacency are crucial responsibilities for pilots to prevent overruns.
Maintaining a stabilized approach—characterized by a constant glidepath, optimum speed, and proper aircraft configuration—is paramount, with initiating a go-around being the necessary action if stability is not achieved.
Even small deviations in landing speed, such as a 10% excess, can significantly increase the required landing distance by at least 21%, underscoring the critical need for precise energy management.

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On the evening of December 27, 2022, a Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 skidded off the runway at Jack Thorp /Hawthorne Municipal Airport (KHHR). There were no injuries to the seven persons on board.

The local television crews captured video of the aircraft off the end of the 4,884-foot by 100-foot runway, noting “It traveled all the way to the end of the runway before sliding off, possibly due to the wet tarmac.” The airplane traveled through the airport perimeter fence before coming to rest on what appeared to be a street.