A runway incursion is any incidence at an airfield that involves the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or an individual on the designated area for the landing and takeoff of an airplane (ICAO, 2007). Failure to comply with Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearance procedures by the pilot or the vehicle driver may lead to a runway incursion. Runway incursions remain a significant challenge to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. Statistics show that the number of incursions across the United States increased by almost 83% between 2011 and 2017. Therefore, there is a need to address the runway incursions issues and develop strategies to curb the incursions.
Safety Management Challenges in Mitigating Runway Incursions
Airport safety management and mitigation of runway incursions faces some challenges. These challenges can be understood as the contributory factors of most runway incursions. First, the airdrome design can pose a significant challenge in airfield safety management. For instance, inadequate lighting, airport signage, and taxiway markings on the aerodrome may increase aircraft or individuals' unauthorized presence in the designated landing areas, thus increasing incursions. Intersecting runways in an airfield may also increase the risk of runway incursions if both runways are used simultaneously without good use of standard operating procedures (Federal Aviation Administration, 2018).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Secondly, the use of multiple languages for ATC communications poses a challenge in safety management efforts. In some international airports, the ATC personnel can use their local language to communicate with local aircraft. However, international aircraft often use English to communicate with the airfield's ATC staff. In a situation where the local ATC personnel is not competent with the English language, the visiting flight crew may not understand the position of the traffic in the airfield (ICAO, 2007). The language barrier may, therefore, result in runway incursions.
Solutions to Runway Incursions
The solutions to runway incursions involve a blend of human training and the use of technology. For instance, modern technology such as Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE) would enhance airport operations. The ASDE integrates data from several sources such as radars and transponder systems to provide accurate aircraft position, thus reducing chances of runway incursions (Federal Aviation Administration, 2018). Other forms of technology, such as Runway Status Lights, are also used to enhance airfield safety and prevent runway incursions.
Human training is a crucial component in the safety management of an airfield. Recurrent training of the air traffic controllers, pilots, and vehicle drivers should enhance their skills and competence in their respective positions. For instance, training air traffic controllers on effectively using the ASDE technology for flight control would significantly reduce runway incursions. Educating the pilots on markings and signs at high-risk airports and ensuring they are conversant with current runway safety issues would also help mitigate runway incursions (Federal Aviation Administration, 2018).
References
ICAO. (2007). Manual on the Prevention of Runway Incursions . https://www.icao.int/safety/runwaysafety/documents%20and%20toolkits/icao_manual_prev_ri.pdf
Federal Aviation Administration. (2018, July 5). Fact sheet – Runway safety . https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=14895
