Maximizing Runway Safety Prevents Potential Disasters

Two aircraft overruns occurring at both ends of the same runway, at the same airport, within the space of four days sounds very unlikely and highly remote. Yet this unusual scenario actually occurred at Key West International Airport in Florida.

On Monday, Oct. 31 at 7:45 PM, a Gulfstream 150 business jet was attempting a landing on the west end of the runway (Runway 27) when the aircraft overran the runway. It passed through an unpaved 600 ft. runway safety area and travelled an additional 220 ft., stopping at the end of the airfield, three feet away from an airport perimeter fence.

There was substantial damage to the wings, nose, landing gear and body. The left side and wing of the aircraft were partially submerged in a shallow salt pond, with some fuel leakage.

NASCAR race car owner Rick Hendrick and his wife, Linda were passengers in the aircraft, which was owned by NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson. Mr. Hendrick was hospitalized with a broken clavicle and ribs, while Mrs. Hendrick suffered minor cuts and bruises.

On Thursday, Nov. 3 at 12:15 PM, a Cessna Citation 550 touched down for a landing on the east end (Runway 09) of the same 4,800 ft. runway. Unable to stop, the aircraft passed over a 35-ft. setback area then engaged an ESCO EMASMAX® Engineered Material Arresting System. The aircraft continued 148 ft. into the energy-absorbing arrestor bed and coasted to a safe, controlled stop.

The pilot, co-pilot and three passengers quickly exited the aircraft with no injuries. The aircraft suffered only minimal damage to its belly and front landing gear, with no fuel leakage. By 2:00 PM, the aircraft had been towed to a hangar and the runway reopened at 2:06 PM.

Airport Director Peter Horton observed that the safety material worked perfectly: "Not even a bruise or a scratch." And further: ". . . I have never seen a more effective safety device than EMAS to minimize aircraft damage or passenger injury in the event of an over-run incident. And as recent events have proven, it works exactly as advertised."

Aircraft overruns seem to happen when you least expect it. Although the circumstances in these two were similar, the outcome in each situation was remarkably different.

What It Is Like to Be Onboard an Aircraft Engaging an EMAS.

Mr. Bill Daughenbaugh is an experienced pilot of 38 years, logging over 11,000 hours of flight time in private aircraft, helicopters and gliders. He has owned/operated seventeen airplanes, with six years of experience as a news helicopter pilot in New York City and Philadelphia.

Mr. Daughenbaugh was also a passenger on the Citation 550 that engaged the ESCO EMASMAX arrestor bed in Key West, FL. Surviving unexpected turns of events in aircraft was nothing new for him.

In 1998, he was a passenger on a Sukhoi Su29 that overran the runway at Williamstown, NJ. The aircraft went through a ditch, crashed through a forest and ended up on a highway. Miraculously, no one was hurt. In 2009, after a mechanical failure near New York City, he piloted a 206 Bell longrange news helicopter to a safe crash landing at a dump, one mile away from "Sully's landing on the Hudson".

Bill contacted ESCO to find out about "the material that had saved the plane" at Key West. The result was an invitation to visit the ESCO EMASMAX plant in Logan Township, NJ where Bill delivered his account to ESCO employees at a special luncheon:

"I was thinking that we were going into the trees, not knowing that this material (EMAS) was at the end of the runway. I heard the noise, the breaking up of the EMAS material. I had no idea what we had hit. It wasn't a hard hit. It was a real slow, gradual loss of momentum, a deceleration. No big impact. It just amazed me."

"I appreciate what you have done with this system, because I can confess that it saved me!"

EMASMAX is the latest, most durable version of ESCO's fieldproven EMAS, developed with and approved by the FAA. ESCO's EMAS arrestor beds are composed of blocks of lightweight, crushable concrete designed to safely stop airplanes that overshoot runways. ESCO's EMAS is an acceptable alternative for preventing overrun catastrophes at airports where runway safety areas (RSA) do not exist or are impractical due to environmental or other issues. ESCO's EMAS design was further optimized with the use of ESCO's low-strength EMAS blocks that provide performance predictability down to 12,500 lbs.

These systems are present on 70 runways worldwide and have now safely arrested 8 aircraft ranging from a Cessna Citation to a Boeing 747, saving the lives of 235 passengers/crew members. The most recent three arrestments have been business jet and regional jet aircraft. In most cases, after extraction from the EMAS bed, every aircraft was able to fly away. Only the sections of the EMAS bed damaged by the aircraft's tire/landing gear entry need to be replaced, an expense that is covered by the aircraft operator's insurance.

In 2007, ESCO installed Asia's first EMAS at Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport in Sichuan Province, China. Although Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport has a relatively long runway, 3,200 meters (10,499 ft.), due to Airport's high elevation at 3,448 meters (11,350 ft.) above mean sea level, aircraft performance and Runway End Safety Area (RESA) protection on landing and take-off are greatly reduced. With the Airport installing ESCO's EMASMAX at both runway ends and airlines implementing safety-focus standard operating procedures on flight operations, minimum pilot experience and pilot training, the risk of overrunning the runway during landing and take-off is significantly reduced.

In 2011, ESCO installed its EMASMAX at Taipei Songshan International Airport. Taipei Songshan International Airport (TSA), located close to the business center of Taipei City, Taiwan, has recently undergone a dramatic increase in airline traffic, specifically international service to China, Japan

and other Asian airports. Because of this increased traffic, the existing airfield, constrained by surrounding development, needed to be evaluated for RESA protection. The existing Runway 10/28 is primarily involved in takeoffs and landings to the east. The runway is 2,605 meters (8,547 ft.) long by 60 meters (197 ft.) wide. The existing RESA provided only 240 meters (790 ft.) of overrun protection, far short of current requirements. The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) decided that ESCO's EMAS is most viable alternative to improving RESA safety.

ICAO Annex 14, Vol. 1 Proposed Amendments ICAO held a Global Runway Safety Symposium at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on May 24-26, 2011. Literature distributed at the event, "Fighting Runway Excursions: Runway End Safety Areas and Arresting Systems" addressed the Air Navigation Commission's review of "Annex 14, Vol. 1 – Aerodrome Design and Operations" an amendment proposal to strengthen the requirement for RESAs and introduce aircraft arresting systems into Annex 14.

The Secretariat had been accepting comments on proposed amendments until Sept. 15, 2011, after which the ANC's final review of proposed amendments was to be submitted for recommendation to Council, with amendments expected to become applicable at a target date of Nov. 2012.

About ESCO-Zodiac Aerospace

ESCO (Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation), a member of the Zodiac Aerospace Emergency Arresting Systems Division (EASD) is widely recognized as the world's leading authority on energy absorption, particularly regarding military and commercial aircraft arresting systems. ESCO's philosophy of "Mastering Safety in Motion" includes urban security and unmanned systems launch and recovery.