Illustration by David Vogin
When you think of a runway incursion, what image springs to mind? Most of us think of runway incursions as involving two aircraft on the same runway.
In fact, a runway incursion is any unauthorized intrusion onto a runway, regardless of whether an aircraft presents a potential conflict. That is the actual definition, word for word, as accepted by the FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
You will notice that it doesn’t say a runway incursion presents unavoidable danger, or that it specifically involves two or more aircraft. A runway incursion can involve two or more aircraft, or it might involve an aircraft and a fuel truck, or perhaps a golf cart or even just a pedestrian in a particular place, at a time when it should not be there.
As pilots it is up to us to be on the defense, remain aware of our surroundings, and use communication tools to our best advantage. If we do, we can prevent many runway incursions that might otherwise have created a safety issue.
Runway incursions are broken down into four categories. Category D is reserved for situations where a vehicle, person, or aircraft is incorrectly present on the protected area of a runway, or other place designated for landing and taking off, but without an immediate safety consequence.
Category C is for incidents where there is adequate time and space available to avoid a collision. Category B describes an incident with a significant potential for collision and which may require quick corrective or evasive action to avoid a collision. In Category A—the most serious—a collision was narrowly avoided.
The escalation of categories continues, of course. Beyond a Category A runway incursion is an event that results in a collision. That occurrence is officially defined as an accident.
Where did he come from? A CFI who would prefer to remain nameless related this story. “I was with a presolo student at a nontowered airport, and we’d just made our takeoff call [on the CTAF]. As we accelerated down the runway, another airplane crossed the active runway on the taxiway that intersects the runway at midfield.” This is an example of a Category C incursion.
As the various categories suggest, the severity of a runway incursion is based on several variables: available reaction time, the need for evasive or corrective action, environmental conditions, the speed of the aircraft or other vehicle, and the proximity of the aircraft or other vehicle to each other. Each of those factors is evaluated to arrive at an accurate determination of how serious a runway incursion was.
Our goal is to avoid runway incursions entirely. And although none of us can guarantee we never will be involved in a runway incursion, we can take steps to ensure we are not the offending aircraft, should one occur.
Researchers have identified three major contributors to runway incursion events:
- Failure to comply with instructions from air traffic control.
- Lack of familiarity with the airport.
- Not following standard operating procedures.
The good news is that all three of those causes are easily preventable. If ATC issues you an instruction you don’t hear clearly, or don’t understand, ask them to repeat it. You will not be the first—or the last—to have missed a radio call, or to have your transmission stepped on and made incomprehensible by another pilot who was a little too quick with the transmit button.
Confusion on the taxiway. It is night at a busy southern airport. Visibility is good. The first officer of a Canadair Regional Jet is issued a taxi clearance that allowed the flight to cross a taxiway that paralleled the active runway, then hold short of the runway until further clearance is given. The captain is taxiing the airplane. As they approach the parallel taxiway, the first officer warns the captain to stop. She sees something wrong on the taxiway. The captain assures her they have been cleared to cross the taxiway. The first officer agrees, but still sees something amiss on the taxiway. They stop short of the parallel taxiway and consider calling ground control for an advisory. Seconds later a Cessna Citation rotates directly in front of the RJ—taking off from the taxiway the RJ had been cleared to cross.
“We were in disbelief,” said the captain years later, relating the story. “The tower couldn’t see exactly what was going on. They could see us better than the airplane that was taking off.” Had the first officer not spoken up, the outcome would have been tragic.
Although this particular example may not meet the letter of the incursion definition, it certainly meets the spirit of a Category B incursion.
When you’re at an unfamiliar airport, use an airport diagram to find your way from Point A to Point B, or ask for progressive taxi instructions. ATC will be happy to guide you, step by step, to your destination. They would much rather help you than suffer the consequences of having a lost aircraft taxi onto a runway. So don’t be shy. When you need an assist, say so. That’s part of the reason ATC is there in the first place.
As a rule, be sure you follow the standard operating procedures for ground operations. When the tower clears you to taxi to the active runway, remember this does not give you the authority to cross intersecting runways to get there. Be sure to stop at the hold-short line, before you reach the runway, and call ground control to obtain further clearance. When you’re at a nontowered airport, use caution. Stop and verify that the area is clear before crossing taxiways or runways. And make sure there is nobody on final, or still rolling out on the runway, before you taxi out to commence your own takeoff.
Situational awareness is critical to safe aircraft operations. Whether you are in the air or on the ground, you need to know where you are, where any other aircraft might be, and how to get from where you are to where you’re going. Any pilot who puts situational awareness high up on his or her priority list will automatically be a safer and more aware pilot.
Situational awareness is an especially important skill to develop, as evidenced by the November 2012 collision between an SUV and a Cessna 172 operated by a student pilot.
Neither of the vehicle operators was doing anything wrong. The Cessna was on final approach to a nontowered airport in a rural area northwest of Dallas, Texas. The SUV was operated by a couple who were driving to the airport restaurant, which is located on the east side of the field. The perimeter road that leads to the restaurant also passes very close to the approach end of Runway 17. The airplane was low on approach, and did not initiate a go-around. The driver of the SUV rolled across a stop strip painted on the road, and apparently did not notice the airplane just to the left on a flight path that would intersect the vehicle's intended route.
Fortunately, there were no serious injuries in this incursion that quickly escalated into an accident. The video of the crash, which was widely distributed on the Internet, is an excellent example of how an otherwise benign series of events can conspire to become a serious accident if situational awareness is lost, standard operating procedures are ignored, and lack of familiarity with the airport environment come together into one unhappy moment at the approach end of the runway.
Is that a car? A CFI in Washington state recalls being at the hold-short line waiting to take off with a presolo student, when she observed something very odd. A Toyota was motoring down the runway toward her. The car was driven by a woman who stopped it on the runway. Because the CFI is with a presolo student, she cannot get out of the airplane to offer assistance to the driver.
The driver is oblivious to the airplane and is apparently unaware that it is waiting for her to clear the runway. An airplane in the pattern is forced to do a go-around because there is a car stopped on the runway. The CFI at the hold-short line finds a solution—she radios the FBO to ask for assistance. A short time later the operator arrives in a service vehicle, raps on the Toyota’s window, and asks the driver if she would follow him to a safe area.
Apparently, the driver had become disoriented and was under the impression she was in a park, but had gotten lost and couldn’t understand why the road had come to an end.
Related Articles
