Runway excursion

Runway safety is a term used to describe the potential for harm that could occur on a runway. There are a variety of factors that impact safety conditions on runways, though some analysts have proposed various methods of improving runway safety.

Several terms fall under the flight safety topic of runway safety, including incursion, excursion, and confusion. Terms such as runway event or runway accident are used for such incidents.

Runway incursion involves an aircraft, and a second aircraft, vehicle, or person. It is defined by ICAO and the U.S. FAA 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 take off of aircraft."

Runway excursion is an incident involving only a single aircraft, where it makes an inappropriate exit from the runway. This can happen because of pilot error, poor weather, or a fault with the aircraft.

"Overrun" is a type of excursion where the aircraft is unable to stop before the end of the runway. An example is Air India Express Flight 812 in Mangalore, India in 2010. Further examples can be found in the overruns category. Runway excursion is the most frequent type of landing accident, slightly ahead of runway incursion. For runway accidents recorded between 1995 and 2007, 96% were of the 'excursion' type.

Runway confusion is when a single aircraft makes "the unintentional use of the wrong runway, or a taxiway, for landing or take-off". Notable examples of a runway confusion incidents include Singapore Airlines Flight 006 and Comair Flight 5191.

The U.S. FAA publishes an annual report on runway safety issues, available from the FAA website. New systems designed to improve runway safety, such as Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS) and Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS), are discussed in the report. AMASS narrowly prevented a serious collision in the 2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion.

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