| Innovation in Runway Safety: Development of a Flight Deck-Based Runway Safety Alerting System |
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bridges vol. 19, October 2008 / News from the Network, Austrian Scientists Abroad By Peter Moertl The author of the following article, Peter Moertl, is lead human factors engineer at the MITRE Center for Advanced Aviation System Development. He is leading the design and evaluation in aviation research and development with special focus on runway safety. He has over more than 10 years collaborated with various aviation organizations including the Civil Aeromedical Institute and Technical Center of the Federal Aviation Administration, as well NASA Ames and NASA Langley on flight-deck and air traffic controller related human performance and system design. Peter Moertl studied psychology at the Karl Franzens University in Graz, Austria, and received his Ph. D. at the University of Oklahoma. MITRE is a not-for-profit corporation working in the public interest in partnership with national and international government sponsors with a 6,500-member staff. Its Center for Advanced Aviation System Development is the largest research and development organization for airports and air traffic control systems in the US. MITRE's origins go back half a century to its existence as a laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Its staff addresses issues of critical national and international importance, combining systems engineering and information technology. More information about MITRE can be found at www.mitre.org . Aircraft at airports operate in proximity to each other and at high speeds during departures and landings. The erroneous presence of aircraft on a runway can lead to disastrous accidents. The worst accident, in terms of human lives lost, happened in March 1977 in Tenerife, when two Boeing 747s collided during take-off. In that accident, 583 people lost their lives. In a more recent accident in 2001 at Milan Linate airport in Italy, an MD 80 collided with a Cessna Citation: 114 people lost their lives. Although such accidents are relatively rare, they continue to occur and their prevention has been recognized as a high public safety priority. 
Aftermath of a collision between two aircraft at Milan Linate airport.
Therefore, Civil Aviation Administrations throughout the world have undertaken programs to reduce the occurrence of runway accidents. This article reports on current developments by MITRE CAASD, a non-profit organization supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), together with other industry and government organizations, aimed to reduce such occurrences. The FAA is the organization that regulates and operates the national airspace system in the United States. Runway collisions are the visible tip of a larger iceberg that consists of events called "runway incursions." Runway incursions involve the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on runways. In the United States alone, between 2004 and 2007 there were 5-6 incursions per million departures and landings - 1353 incidents overall. Runway incursions are generally considered a better safety measurement than accidents, simply because they occur more frequently. Runway incursions also provide information about the errors that lead to accidents. Therefore, by reducing the rate of incursions, the rate of accidents should also decrease. However, the relative rate of runway incursions per total operations in the US has scarcely changed over the last four years, despite the introduction of several safety improvement programs during that time. Access to the full article is free, but requires you to register. Registration is simple and quick – all we need is your name and a valid e-mail address. We appreciate your interest in bridges. |
