General aviation pilots of all experience and certificate levels account for the majority of runway incursions each year, causing airport surface accidents and incidents because of a single miscalculation or a host of slip-ups coming together at the wrong time. Communication mistakes, unfamiliarity with an airport layout or its operations, poor weather, and pilot inattentiveness can contribute to a runway incursion.
It takes just a couple of simple measures to improve your ability to prevent an incursion. For instance, a process that calls for sterile cockpit procedures and completing checklists before moving on the airport surface area pays dividends in better situational awareness during taxi, takeoff, and landing. Safe runway operations also require improved communication between pilots, air traffic control, and ground vehicle crews.
Take a look at this ASI video reenactment of a tragic runway accident at Quincy, Illinois, caused by a major communication breakdown between two aircraft on the ground and a regional airliner inbound for landing (www.airsafetyinstitute.org/Quincy-accident).
Especially at unfamiliar airports, it is important to be extra vigilant, have good situational awareness, communicate clearly, double-check clearances, and visually clear the area. Electronic airport diagrams may help us navigate unfamiliar taxiways at larger airports, but they also mean we may have our heads down for a prolonged time watching our aircraft move along the display, oblivious to what’s going on outside the cockpit window.
There is a host of free airport safety education available from the Air Safety Institute all pulled together in ASI’s Runway Safety Spotlight (www.airsafetyinstitute.org/runwaysafetyspotlight). It includes ASI courses (Runway Safety, which was produced with the support of the FAA’s Office of Runway Safety, and Say It Right: Mastering Radio Communication), recorded webinars, and Ask ATC videos.
Related Articles
