The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(February 2018) |
An engineered materials arrestor system, engineered materials arresting system (EMAS), or arrester bed [1] is a bed of engineered materials built at the end of a runway to reduce the severity of the consequences of an aircraft running off the end of a runway. Engineered materials are defined in FAA Advisory Circular No 150/5220-22B as "high energy absorbing materials of selected strength, which will reliably and predictably crush under the weight of an aircraft". While the current technology involves lightweight, crushable concrete blocks, any material that has been approved to meet the FAA Advisory Circular can be used for an EMAS. The purpose of an EMAS is to stop an aircraft overrun with no human injury and minimal aircraft damage. The aircraft is slowed by the loss of energy required to crush the EMAS material. An EMAS is similar in concept to the runaway truck ramp or race circuit gravel trap, made of gravel or sand. It is intended to stop an aircraft that has overshot a runway when there is an insufficient free space for a standard runway safety area (RSA). Multiple patents have been issued on the construction and design on the materials and process.
FAA Advisory Circular 150/5220-22B explains that an EMAS may not be effective for incidents involving aircraft of less than 11,000 kilograms (25,000 lb) weight. [2] It also clarifies that an EMAS is not the same as a stopway, which is defined in FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13A, Section 312. [3] Pilots are advised, if they know the airplane is going to overrun onto an EMAS installation, to maintain directional control of the aircraft and roll straight into it. By doing this, the aircraft will come to a complete stop over a short distance, regardless of the runway conditions or braking action being experienced. [4]
As of May 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been working on developing a harmonized regulation regarding arresting systems.
Research projects completed in Europe have looked into the cost-effectiveness of EMAS. Arrestor beds have been installed at airports where the runway safety areas are below standards, and their ability to stop aircraft with minimal or no damage to the air frame and its occupants has proven to bring results far beyond the cost of installations. The latest report, "Estimated Cost-Benefit Analysis of Runway Severity Reduction Based on Actual Arrestments", shows how the money saved through the first 11 arrestments has reached a calculated total of 1.9 billion USD, thus saving more than $1 B over the estimated cost of development (R&D, all installations worldwide, maintenance and repairs reaching a total of USD 600 million). The study suggests that mitigating the consequences of runway excursions worldwide may turn out to be much more cost-effective than the current focus on reducing the already very low probability of occurrence. [5]
The FAA's design criteria for new airports designate Runway Safety Areas (RSAs) to increase the margin of safety if an overrun occurs and to provide additional access room for response vehicles. A United States federal law required that the length of RSAs in airports was to be 1,000 feet (300 m) by the end of 2015, in a response to a runway overrun into a highway at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. [1] At airports built before these standards were put into effect, the FAA has funded the installation of EMAS at the ends of main runways. The minimum recommended overall length of an EMAS installation is 600 feet (180 m), of which at least 400 feet (120 m) is to consist of the frangible material. [7]
As of April 2019 [update] , ESCO's EMAS is installed at 112 runway ends at 68 airports in the United States, with plans to install three EMAS systems at two additional U.S. airports. [8]
As of 2017 the FAA reported that EMAS systems had been used 12 times, but that in some situations pilots tried to avoid the EMAS, steering to the grass sides in 30–40 kn (56–74 km/h; 35–46 mph) low-energy events in order to avoid publicity. [9]
Of the 15 non-U.S. installations, eight were provided by Zodiac Arresting Systems (two in China, two in Madrid, one in Taipei, Taiwan (Songshan Airport), two in Norway and one in Saudi Arabia), six were provided by RunwaySafe (one in Switzerland, and three in overseas departments of France – one in Reunion Island, two in Mayotte), one in Japan, one in Germany, two in Brazil and one provided by Hankge (China).
As of February 2018 [update] , there were three recognized EMAS materials (from two manufacturers worldwide) that meet the FAA requirements of Advisory Circular 150-5220-22B, "Engineered Materials Arresting Systems for Aircraft Overruns." (The FAA must review and approve each EMAS installation.) [10]
The first EMAS was developed in the mid-1990s by ESCO/Engineered Arresting Systems Corp. (later Zodiac Arresting Systems) as part of a collaboration and technical acceptance by the FAA. The fourth generation EMAS arrestor beds are composed of blocks of lightweight, crushable cellular concrete material, encased in jet blast resistant protection, designed to safely stop airplanes that overshoot runways. Zodiac's EMAS is installed on over 110 airport runways at over 65 airports on three continents.[ when? ] Zodiac's EMAS has undergone aircraft test runs at speeds up 55 knots (102 km/h; 63 mph) and is the only EMAS that has safely stopped aircraft in emergency overrun situations at commercial airports. Zodiac stopped production of EMAS systems as the U.S market slowed down and competition increased in the international market. [11]
The Swedish company Runway Safe AB developed an EMAS system, a foamed silica bed made from recycled glass contained within a high-strength plastic mesh system anchored to the pavement at the end of the runway. The foamed silica is poured into lanes bounded by the mesh and covered with a poured cement layer and treated with a top coat of sealant. [12]
A third manufacturer, certified by the Chinese CAAC, has a product that is very similar to the original Zodiac EMAS, but it is not FAA approved, as presented by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at 02/08/2019 in report A40-WP/331. [13]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(May 2019) |
Additional media coverage of EMAS statistics, installations, and general news include:
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a human-made surface or a natural surface. Runways, taxiways and ramps, are sometimes referred to as "tarmac", though very few runways are built using tarmac. Takeoff and landing areas defined on the surface of water for seaplanes are generally referred to as waterways. Runway lengths are now commonly given in meters worldwide, except in North America where feet are commonly used.
Hollywood Burbank Airport — formerly called Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope — is a public airport three miles (4.8 km) northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The airport serves Burbank, Hollywood, and the northern Greater Los Angeles area, which includes Glendale, Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley. It is closer to many popular attractions, including Griffith Park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Downtown Los Angeles, than Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and it is the only airport in the area with a direct rail connection to Downtown Los Angeles, with service from two stations: Burbank Airport–North and Burbank Airport–South. Nonstop flights mostly serve cities in the western United States, though Delta Air Lines has regular routes to Atlanta.
West Virginia International Yeager Airport is a public airport 3 miles (4.8 km) east of downtown Charleston, in unincorporated Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. It is owned by the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority. The airport hosts McLaughlin Air National Guard Base, home to eight C-130 Hercules aircraft of the West Virginia Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing, an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the West Virginia Air National Guard.
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel or grass.
Teterboro Airport is a general aviation relief airport situated in the boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is owned and managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and operated by AFCO AvPORTS Management. The airport is in the New Jersey Meadowlands, 12 miles (19 km) north-northwest of Midtown Manhattan, making it popular for private and corporate aircraft. The airport has a weight limit of 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) on aircraft, making it nonviable for any commercial service.
Greater Binghamton Airport is a county-owned American airport eight miles north of Binghamton, in Broome County, New York. It is in East Maine, New York and serves the Southern Tier of New York.
Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport is a general aviation airport located within the city limits of Fort Lauderdale, in Broward County, Florida, United States, five miles (8.0 km) north of downtown Fort Lauderdale. It is a division of the Transportation and Mobility Department of the City of Fort Lauderdale.
An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers. Similar systems are also found at land-based airfields for expeditionary or emergency use. Typical systems consist of several steel wire ropes laid across the aircraft landing area, designed to be caught by an aircraft's tailhook. During a normal arrestment, the tailhook engages the wire and the aircraft's kinetic energy is transferred to hydraulic damping systems attached below the carrier deck. There are other related systems that use nets to catch aircraft wings or landing gear. These barricade and barrier systems are only used for emergency arrestments for aircraft without operable tailhooks.
Greenville Downtown Airport is an airport three miles east of Greenville, South Carolina, United States. It is owned by the Greenville Airport Commission and is the busiest general aviation airport in South Carolina.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 was a scheduled passenger flight from Baltimore, Maryland, to Chicago, Illinois, continuing on to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Las Vegas, Nevada. On December 8, 2005, the airplane slid off a runway at Midway Airport in Chicago while landing in a snowstorm and crashed into automobile traffic, killing a six-year-old boy.
Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport is a public airport in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, owned by the city of Bridgeport. It is three miles (6 km) southeast of downtown, in the town of Stratford. It was formerly Bridgeport Municipal Airport.
A runway excursion is a runway safety incident in which an aircraft makes an inappropriate exit from the runway.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 was a scheduled passenger flight from McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, Burbank, California, that overran the runway during landing on March 5, 2000. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-3T5, registration N668SW, came to rest on a city street adjacent to a gas station. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the incident was due to the pilots attempting to land with excessive speed. They also found that the air traffic controller placed them in a position from which their only option was a go around. Two of the passengers were seriously injured, and there were many minor injuries. As a result of the incident, the airport installed an Engineered Materials Arrestor System at the east end of the incident runway. The aircraft was written off, making the incident the 10th hull loss of a Boeing 737-300. This was the first major accident in the airline's 29-year history.
A runway safety area (RSA) or runway end safety area is defined as "the surface surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or excursion from the runway."
Runway safety is concerned with reducing harm that could occur on an aircraft runway. Safety means avoiding incorrect presence (incursion) of aircraft, inappropriate exits (excursion) 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.
Allied Air Flight 111 was a cargo flight operated by Lagos-based cargo airliner Allied Air, flying from Lagos, Nigeria to Accra, Ghana. The flight was operated with a Boeing 727 cargo aircraft. On 2 June 2012, the aircraft crashed on landing at Kotoka International Airport, killing ten people on the ground.
ASL Airlines Hungary Flight 7332 was a cargo flight operating for DHL from Paris–Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, to Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport, Italy. On 5 August 2016, the aircraft overran the runway while landing at Bergamo in poor weather, and came to rest on a nearby road. The airport was closed for almost three hours after the crash, and flights were rescheduled or rerouted to Malpensa Airport. The two-person crew suffered serious injuries.
Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 901, was a scheduled international flight operated by the Scandinavian Airlines System, that overran the runway at its destination at John F. Kennedy International Airport on February 28, 1984. The flight, using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, originated at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Sweden, before a stopover at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Norway. All 177 passengers and crew members on board survived, although 12 were injured. The runway overshoot was due to the crew's failure to monitor their airspeed and overreliance on the aircraft's autothrottle.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13A (PDF)The airport installed the $4-million safety system after a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 skidded off the same runway and onto a street in 2000, injuring 43 passengers and the captain on the same runway.