FAA: Runways come up short

On 5 Nov 2006 12:47:53 -0800, "Andrew Sarangan"
wrote:


The FAA says runways without a 1000-ft overrun area are unsafe. The
solution? Extend the overrun by shortening the runway. That sounds
fishy to me. What am I missing here?

Apparently for those airports where they don't have 1000 feet to
spare, they can install an Engineered Materials Arresting System
(EMAS) as a substitute. That's pavement material that will slow the
airplane quickly. It looks like they're talking about a kind of
concrete that would collapse under the weight of a heavy aircraft,
making it dissipate speed as it slogs through it. Out in the real
world, we call that mud. Or maybe sand could work well too, it works
for beach volleyball. Of course in this case it would have to be FAA
approved sand

High grass has a well-established effect of slowing down aircraft. And
it's organic. Maybe the airport management could save money by not
mowing the grass and call it a safety enhancement.

RK Henry