Commercial Aviation Safety: Runway Incursions - Term Paper Example

Runway Incursions Runway incursions have contributed a lot to the rising number of accidents in America. These incidences pose risks that are preventable. This paper is going to look at various explanations and definitions of what runway incursions are. It will then look at some of the categories of runway incursions together with various runway scenarios. It will then look at some of the causes cited for runway incursions and the contributing factors to runway incursions. This will be followed by some rules that have been established to prevent runway incursions. The paper will finish off with a conclusion on various recommendations that have been put forward to solve the problem of runway incursions. Introduction The FAA defines runway incursions as “any occurrence at an airport that involves and aircraft, vehicle, person or object on the ground that creates a collision hazard or results in the loss of separation with an aircraft taking off, intending to take off, landing or intending to land.” (FAA, 2010) On the other hand the JAA has defined a runway incursion as the unintended presences of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the runway or runway strip.” (Bellonte, 2004) The commonly accepted definition of a runway incursion is proposed by the International civil aviation organization (ICAO) under (PAN-ATM) as “any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft.” (ICAO, 2007) Categories of runway incursions The Federal Aviation Administration has categorized runway incursions into four: the first is category A and these are serious incidences in which collision with an aircraft were narrowly avoided; category B which is an incidence in which there is decreased separation and thus causes a significant potential for collision, which my result in a time critical corrective response to avert the collision; category C refers to incidents that are characterized extended time or distance to avoid a collision; and category D which refers to an incident in which there is a foreign object on the protected area of a surface designated for takeoff or landing, such as a single vehicle/person/aircraft but does not pose immediate safety concerns. All the mentioned categories pose high risks that may lead to an accident if corrective measures are not taken as fast as possible to avoid the situation (FAA, 2011). It can be seen from the above mentioned categories that the severity of the situation increases from category D to category A. The last category D, does not pose a risk, category C on the other hand there is ample time to separate and therefore the risk of collision is still low. In category B there is decreased separation which increases chances for collision and therefore a timely measure is required to avert the situation. In Category A the collision was narrowly avoided meaning that a delay would have led to an accident. All these incidents need to be avoided to ensure the safety of aircrafts taking off or landing whether the incident presents a potential danger or not. Runway Incursions scenarios The international Civil Aviation Authority has divided runway incursions into six scenarios: (1) an aircraft or vehicle crossing in front of a landing aircraft; (b) an aircraft or vehicle crossing in front of an aircraft taking off; (c) an aircraft or vehicle crossing the runway-holding position marking; (d) an aircraft or vehicle ensure of its position and inadvertently entering an active runway; (e) a breakdown in communication leading to failure to follow an air traffic control instruction; and (f) an aircraft passing behind an aircraft or vehicle that has not vacated the runway (ICAO, 2007). Causes of runway incursions Most of the time when collisions occur off the runway, the objects involved such as an aircraft and a vehicle are usually travelling at a relatively slow speed this is in contrast to when a collision occurs on the runway as one of the aircraft involved will be travelling at considerable speed. This in turn leads to a much greater risk of significant damage or even loss of life. The FAA has cited three causes of runway incursions: operational errors, pilot deviations and vehicle/pedestrian deviation (FAA, 2010). Operational errors may involve actions of the air traffic controller that results in the less than required minimum separation between two or more aircraft and obstacles or clearing an aircraft to take off or land on a closed runway. A pilot deviation is where the pilot goes against any of the federal aviation regulations. A good example is when a pilot crosses a runway without being cleared while enroute to an airport gate. Vehicle/pedestrian deviation occurs when a vehicle or person enters any part of the airport movement areas such as a runway or taxiway without authorization from the air traffic control (FAA, 2010). There are many other contributory factors to runway incursions. The first one is breakdown in communication and this occurs between controllers, pilots or airside vehicle drivers. The cause of this is attributed to (1) the use of non-standardized Phraseology; (2) failure of any party to provide a correct read back of an instruction; (3) the pilot or driver misunderstanding the controllers instructions (4) the pilot or driver accepting a clearance that is meant for another vehicle or aircraft; blocked transmissions and complex transmissions (ICAO, 2007). The second is aerodrome design factors and these involve complex or inadequate aerodrome design which increases the probability of a runway incursion. Studies show that the frequency of runway incursions is related to the number of runway crossing and the characteristic of the aerodrome layout. Some of the common aerodrome factors include: (1) the complexity of the airport layout including roads and taxiways that are adjacent to the runway; (b) insufficient spacing between parallel runways; (c) departure taxiways that fail to intersect active runways at right angles; (d) no end loop perimeter taxiway to avoid runway crossings (ICAO, 2007). The third contributory factor is weather. Cases of low visibility increase the chance of flight crew becoming mixed-up and unsure of their position while taxiing. Low visibility may also cause the air traffic controller to have a limited ability to identify and follow an aircraft visually (FAA, 2010). It possess difficulty in crosschecking the position of the aircraft as reported and the actual position of the aircraft on the ground. The flight crew and the pilots may also not see objects in the taxiway or runway that have not been cleared or identified by the air traffic controller due to the poor visibility thus cause accidents (FAA, 2010). The fourth contributory factor is workload that includes pilot and controller workload. Pilot workload: Flight crews have to orientate themselves with respect to taxiways and airport layout shortly after landing. They have to reconfigure systems after clearing the runway and carry out other instructions from the ATC. This is also the situation before takeoff which may involve briefing crew and passengers, checking instructions from the ATC etc. all these overload pilots leading to loss of situational awareness or communication confusion (SKYBRARY, 2011). Controller workload is seen when controllers have to handle multiple aircraft movements and handovers and therefore these individuals may have little time to monitor individual aircrafts in order to confirm that they are taxiing in accordance with clearance (SKYBRARY, 2011). Rules for preventing Runway incursions Various rules and regulations have been put in place to reduce or prevent incidences of runway and taxiway incursions. The rules have evolved slowly with improvements being made on them so as to confirm with current airport designs and aircraft designs. Rules to prevent human error have also been put in place involving communication and operating aircraft systems. Technology has also helped in the monitoring of the airport runways and taxiways to detect incidences that pose risks of collision. The rules cover various aspects, areas or people involved or that may be involved in runway incursions. These include pilots, ATC, communications, aerodrome design, vehicle drivers etc. The rules for communication include the mandatory use of standard ICAO phraseologies in all communications associated with runway operations; strict adherence to read back procedures when using the operations area (taxiways and runways); all operations associated with the operation of each runway should be conducted on the same frequency as utilized for the takeoff and landing of aircraft; short and simple messages should be used in ATC communications (ICAO, 2007). Rules for pilots include the following: pilots should never cross illuminated red stop bars when lining up on or crossing a runway unless contingency procedures are in use that specifically allow this; pilots should not accept an ATC clearance that would require them to enter or cross a runway from an obliquely angled taxiway; if lined up on the runway and held more than 90 seconds beyond anticipated departure time, pilots should contact ATC and advise that they are holding on the runway; pilots should always turn on aircraft landing lights when takeoff or landing clearance is received and when on approach; pilots should turn on strobe procedures when crossing a runway; and if there is any doubt when receiving a clearance or instruction, clarification should be immediately requested from ATC before the clearing instruction is enacted (ICAO, 2007). Rules for ATC include: ATC should always use a clear and unambiguous method on the operating console to indicate that a runway is temporarily obstructed; ATC should give ATC enroute clearance prior to taxi; stop bars should be switched on to indicate that all traffic shall stop and be switched off to indicate all traffic shall proceed. Aircraft or vehicles should never be instructed to cross illuminated red stop bars when entering or crossing a runway. In the event of unserviceable stop bars that cannot be deselected, contingency measures, such as follow-me vehicles should be used. Lastly standard taxi routes should be developed and utilized to minimize the potential for pilot confusion (ICAO, 2007). Rules for drivers include: they should immediately contact ATC when uncertain of their exact position on an aerodrome; if in doubt when receiving clearance or instruction, clarification should be sought immediately from the ATC before the clearance or instruction is enacted. All drivers must understand runway and taxiway signs (ICAO, 2007). Conclusion In conclusion, many recommendations have been made in order to solve the problem of runway incursions. These include: the formation of Local Airport Committees for Runway Incursion Prevention for each airport, custom made for individual airports. This would include individuals from ATC, Management, airport vehicle drivers, pilots and a representative from FAA (Costello, 2010). These second is proper staffing of Air Traffic Control Towers and this is aimed at reducing fatigue as a result of workload. The third is technology and modernization where airports need to be fitted with the latest technology to help in monitoring taxiways, runways and aircrafts. These include surface radar, runway status lights, data link systems and taxiway monitoring systems. The fourth is that all crew from pilots, ATC, to drivers should follow ICAO’s best practices in order to minimize runway incursions (Costello, 2010). References Bellonte, M. (2004, May). Flight Operations Briefing notes. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Airbus: http://www.airbus.com/fileadmin/media_gallery/files/safety_library_items/AirbusSafetyLib_-FLT_OPS-RWY_OPS_SEQ01.pdf Costello, J. F. (2010). Runway Safety: an Update: Congressional Hearing. New York: DIANE Publishing. FAA. (2010). Annual Runway Safety Report. Washington DC: Federal Aviation Administration. FAA. (2011). Runway Safety - Runway Incursions. Retrieved December 9, 2011, from Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov/airports/runway_safety/news/runway_incursions/ ICAO. (2007). Manual on the Prevention of Runway Incursions. Retrieved December 9, 2011, from International Civil Aviation Authority: http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/482.pdf SKYBRARY. (2011). Runway Incursion. Retrieved December 9, 2011, from SKYBrary: http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Runway_Incursion Read More