Runway incursion
Encyclopedia
A runway incursion is an incident where an unauthorized aircraft, vehicle or person is on a runway. This adversely affects runway
safety, as it creates the risk that an airplane taking off or landing will collide with the object. It is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
on April 27, 2006, as:
In October 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration
dropped its own definition of "runway incursion" and adopted the above. The difference between the two was "that ICAO defines a runway
incursion as any unauthorized intrusion onto a runway, regardless of whether or not an aircraft presents a potential conflict. For the FAA, an incident without an aircraft in potential conflict– such as an unauthorized aircraft crossing an empty runway– was defined as a 'surface incident' and not a runway incursion."
The Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS)
are computerized systems that are intended to alert air traffic controller
s to the potential for a runway incursion.
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
safety, as it creates the risk that an airplane taking off or landing will collide with the object. It is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
on April 27, 2006, as:
Any occurrence at an aerodromeAerodromeAn aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...
involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft.
In October 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
dropped its own definition of "runway incursion" and adopted the above. The difference between the two was "that ICAO defines a runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
incursion as any unauthorized intrusion onto a runway, regardless of whether or not an aircraft presents a potential conflict. For the FAA, an incident without an aircraft in potential conflict– such as an unauthorized aircraft crossing an empty runway– was defined as a 'surface incident' and not a runway incursion."
The Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS)
Airport Movement Area Safety System
The Airport Movement Area Safety System visually and aurally prompts tower controllers to respond to situations which potentially compromise safety. AMASS is an add-on enhancement to the host ASDE-3 radar that will provide automated alerts and warnings to potential runway incursions and other...
are computerized systems that are intended to alert air traffic controller
Air traffic controller
Air traffic controllers are the people who expedite and maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. The position of the air traffic controller is one that requires highly specialized skills...
s to the potential for a runway incursion.
Notable examples of runway incursion
- 1984 Aeroflot Flight 3352Aeroflot Flight 3352Aeroflot Flight 3352 was a Tupolev Tu-154 airline flight on a domestic route from Krasnodar to Novosibirsk, with an intermediate landing in Omsk, in the USSR. While landing at Omsk Airport on 11 October 1984, the aircraft crashed into maintenance vehicles on the runway, killing 174 people on board...
Airport maintenance vehicles on the runway while a Tupolev Tu-154B-1 is attempting to land in OmskOmsk-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. 174 passengers and 4 people on the ground are killed. - 1994 TWA Flight 427/Superior Aviation Cessna 441TWA Flight 427TWA Flight 427, registration N954U, was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 departing Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in Bridgeton, Missouri for Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado on November 22, 1994...
: Cessna pilot error at Lambert-St. Louis International AirportLambert-St. Louis International AirportLambert-St. Louis International Airport is a Class B international airport serving Greater St. Louis. It is located approximately northwest of downtown St. Louis in unincorporated St. Louis County between Berkeley and Bridgeton. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state with 250 daily...
. Pilot taxied to incorrect runway and was struck by departing TWA MD-80, 2 fatalities on the Cessna. - 1996 United Express Flight 5925United Express Flight 5925United Express flight 5925, operated by Great Lakes Airlines with a Beechcraft 1900, as their flight 5926, was a regularly scheduled flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Quincy, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Burlington, Iowa. On November 19, 1996, the flight crashed upon...
was landing at Quincy Regional AirportQuincy Regional AirportQuincy Regional Airport , also known as Baldwin Field, is a city-owned, public-use airport located 10 nautical miles east of the central business district of Quincy, a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States...
when the pilot of a Beechcraft King AirBeechcraft King AirThe Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation...
started to take off on an intersecting runway. As the field was uncontrolled, the United Express pilots inquired whether the King Air was clear of the runways. They received no response except for a call from a Piper Cherokee saying they were holding short. The King Air and United Express collided at the intersection of the two runways killing all 12 on board Flight 5925 and the pilot and passenger of the Beechcraft King Air. - On 1 April 1999, an Air ChinaAir ChinaAir China is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China. Based in Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern...
Boeing 747, Flight 9018, taxies onto an active runway at Chicago's O'Hare International AirportO'Hare International AirportChicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
during the takeoff of Korean AirKorean AirKorean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...
Flight 36, another 747. Flight 36 averts a collision by taking off early, missing the Air China aircraft by 75 feet. There were 8 people on the Air China jet, and 379 on the Korean flight. - 1999 T. F. Green Airport runway incursion: low visibility and night, the plane went down the wrong taxiway and ended on the runway just as another plane took off. No collision.
- 2001 Linate Airport disasterLinate Airport disasterThe Linate Airport disaster occurred on 8 October 2001 at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, when Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, a McDonnell Douglas MD-87 airliner carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark, collided on take-off with a Cessna Citation CJ2 business jet carrying four people...
: Commercial airliner collided on take-off with a taxiing Cessna CitationCessna CitationThe Cessna Citation is a marketing name used by Cessna for its line of business jets. Rather than one particular model of aircraft, the name applies to several "families" of turbofan-powered aircraft that have been produced over the years...
. - 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: Banda AcehBanda AcehBanda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
4 Jan 2005 : water buffalo on runway causes ground collision which seriously delayed relief flights.