Appendix one, Part one Runway Incursion Avoidance Introduction. Runway safety is a significant
challenge and a top priority for everyone in aviation. In the United States,
an average of three runway incursions occurred daily. Each of these incidents have the
potential to cause significant damage to both persons and property. Runway incursions are a
serious safety concern and have involved air carrier, aircraft, military aircraft, General
aviation or GA, and pedestrian vehicles see Figure one Dash one. Several runway
incursions have resulted in collisions and fatalities. Fatalities have occurred at both towered and
non towered airports. A few seconds of an attention can cause a runway incursion.
You are expected to taxi an airplane safely, whether moving to or from
a runway or otherwise moving about the airport. Scenarios such as bad weather,
low visibility, construction, airport unfamiliarity, time of day, distractions, fatigue,
and miscommunications with air traffic control or ATC add greatly to the challenge of
surface navigation. This chapter is designed to help you attain an understanding of the
risks associated with surface navigation and is intended to provide you with basic information regarding
the safe operation of aircraft at towered and non towered airports. This chapter focuses
on the following major areas runway incursion, overview, taxi route planning, taxi
procedures, communications, airport signs, markings, and lighting. Each section identifies
best practices to help you avoid errors that may potentially lead to runway incursions.
Although the chapter pertains mostly to surface movements for single pilot operations, all of
the information is relevant for flight crew operations as well. Additional information about surface
operations is available through the following sources. Federal Aviation Administration fa A, Runway
Safety Website Www dot FAA dot gov slash go slash Runway Safety, FAA,
National Aeronautical Navigation Services AERONAV formerly known as the National Aeronautical Charting Office and ACO
www dot FAA dot gov, slash air underscore Traffic, slash flight underscore Info,
slash A E, R, O, N A V. Airport Facility
Directory afdwww dot FAA dot gov, slash air underscore traffic, slash flight underscore
Info, slash Aero nav slash Product Catalog, slash Supplemental Charts slash Airport Directory.
Automatic Terminal Information Service ADAS noticet airman not TAMS, HTTP colin slash slash
www, dot, f AA, dot gov, slash pilots slash f LT
underscore p l a N slash no TAMS, Advisory Circular AC ninety one,
DASH seventy three, Part ninety one and Part one hundred and thirty five Single
pilot and flight school procedures during taxi operations. Aeronautical Information Manual AM www dot
FAA dot gov, slash air underscore, traffic slash publications, slash at pubs
slash am AC one twenty DASH seventy four Parts ninety one, one twenty one,
one twenty five, and one thirty five. Flight crew procedures during taxi
operations. Runway incursion overview. Approximately three runway incursions occur each day at towered
airports within the United States. The potential that these numbers present for a catastrophic
accident is unacceptable. A runway incursion is formally defined by the FAA as quote
an 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 takeoff of
aircraft end quote. The following are examples of pilot deviations, operational incidence OI,
and vehicle driver deviations that may lead to runway incursions. Pilot deviations crossing
a runway hold marking without clearance from ATC, taking off without clearance, landing
without clearance, operational incidence OI clearing an aircraft onto a runway while another aircraft
is landing on the same runway, issuing a takeoff clearance while the runway is
occupied by another aircraft or vehicle. Vehicle driver deviations crossing a runway hold marking
without ATC clearance. According to FAA data, approximately sixty five percent of all
runway incursions are caused by pilots. Additionally, seventy five percent of the sixty
five percent of runway incursions are caused by GA pilots. Causal factors of runway
incursions. Detailed investigations of runway incursions over the past ten years have identified three
major areas contributing to these events. Failure to comply with ATC instructions, lack
of airport familiarity, non conformance with standard operating procedures. Clear, concise and
effective pilot controller communication is paramount to safe airport surface operations. You must fully
understand and comply with all ATC instructions. It is mandatory to read back all
runway hold short instructions verbatim. Taxiing on an unfamiliar airport can be very challenging,
especially during hours of darkness or low visibility. Ensure you have a current
airport diagram, remain heads up with eyes outside, and devote your entire attention
to surface navigation. Per ATC clearance. All checklists should be completed while the
aircraft is stopped. There is no place for non essential chatter or other activities
while maintaining visualans during taxi see Figure one Dash two. Runway confusion. Runaway
confusion is a subset of runway incursions and often results in u unintentionally taking off
or landing on a taxiway or wrong runway. Generally, you are unaware of
the mistake until after it has occurred. In August two thousand and six,
the flight crew of a commercial regional jet was cleared for takeoff on runway twenty
two, but mistakenly lined up and departed on runway twenty six, a much
shorter runway. As a result, the aircraft crashed off the end of the
runway causal factors of runway confusion. There are three major factors that increase the
risk of runway confusion and can lead to a wrong runway departure airport complexity,
close proximity of runway thresholds, joint use of a runway as a taxiway.
Not only can airport complexity contribute to a runway incursion, it can also play
a significant role in runway confusion. If you are operating at an unfamiliar airport
and need assistance in executing the taxi clearance, do not hesitate to ask ATC
for help. Always carry a current airport diagram and trace or highlight your taxi
route to the departure runway prior to leaving the ramp. If you are operating
from an airport with runway thresholds in close proximity to one another, exercise extreme
caution when taking the runway. Figure one Dash three shows a perfect example of
a taxiway leading to a runway and a runway without displaced threshold. If departing
on runway thirty six, ensure that you set your aircraft heading bug to three
hundred and sixty degrees and align your aircraft to the runway heading to avoid departing
from the wrong runway. Before adding power, make one last instrument scan to
ensure that the aircraft heading and runway heading are aligned. Under certain circumstances,
it may be necessary to use a runway as a taxiway. For example,
during airport constructions, some taxiways may be closed, requiring rerouting of traffic onto
runways. In other cases, departing traffic may be required to back taxi on
the runway in order to utilize the full runway length. It is important to
remain extremely cautious and maintain situational awareness SA When instructed to use a runway as
a taxiway, do not become confused and take off on the runway you are
using as a taxiway. Taxi route planning Thorough planning is essential for safe taxi
operations. Give as much attention to planning the airport surface movement as is given
to other phases of flight. See Figure one. Dash four Notices to airmen
no TAMS time. Critical aeronautical information which is of a temporary nature or not
sufficiently known in advance to permit publication on aeronautical charts or in other operational publications
receives immediate dissemination by the no TAM system. The note information could affect your
decision to make the flight. It includes such information as taxiway on runaway closures,
construction communications, changing in status of navigational aids, and other information essential
to planned, en route, terminal or landing operations. Exercise good judgment and
common sense by carefully regarding the information readily available in NOE tams. For more
detailed information on no TAMS, refer back to chapter one of this handbook.
Automated Terminal Information Service ADIS. The Automated Terminal Information Service ADIS is a recording
of the local weather conditions and other pertinent non controlled information broadcast on a local
frequency in a looped format. It is normally updated once per hour, but
is updated more often when changing local conditions. Warrant important information is broadcast on
ADIS, including weather, runways in use, specific ATC procedures, and any
airport construction activity that could affect taxi planning. When the ADIS is recorded,
it is given a code. This code is changed with every ADIS update.
For example, ADIS Alpha is replaced by ADIS Bravo. The next hour,
ADIS Charlie is recorded followed by ADIS delta and progresses down the alphabet, with
every update starting back at alpha after a breaking surface of twelve hours or more
prior to calling ATC tune to the ADIS frequency and listen to the recorded broadcast.
The broadcast ends with a statement containing the ADIS code. For example,
advised on initial contact you have information bravo. Upon contacting the tower controller,
state information BRAVO was received. This allows the tower controller to verify the pilot
has the current local weather and airport information without having the state at all to
each pilot who calls. This also clears the tower frequency from being overtaken by
the constant relay of the same information, which will result without an ADIS broadcast.
The use of ADIS broadcasts at departure and arrival airports is not only a
sound practice, but a wise decision. Airport Facility Directory AfD the Airport Facility
Directory AfD is a pilot's manual that provides information on airports and other aviation facilities.
The directory includes data that cannot be readily depicted in graphic form, including
airport hours, runway widths, lighting codes, and fuel available. See Figure
one Dash five airport diagram it is essential to have a current airport diagram available
for the departure airport as well as the arrival airport for safe operations. See
Figure one. Dash six. In the back section of each AfD volume are
full page airport diagrams that can help you planed surface operations. Time should be
taken to study of the airport diagram and anticipated taxi routes based on the information
provided from the ADIS and no tams. You should not take for granted that
the anticipated taxi route will be the same taxi route received from ATC, which
is why it is so important to write down and read back the taxi clearance
from ATC. Current airport diagrams are available for download at www dot FAA,
dot gov. Slash Airports slash Runway Underscore safety slash diagrams hot spots. An
airport hot spot is typically a complex or confusing taxiway slash taxiway or taxiway slash
runway intersection. This area of increased risk has either a history of or potential
four runway incursions or surface incidents due to a variety of causes, including airport
layout, traffic flow, airport marking, signage, and lighting. You should
pay special attention to any complex intersections or areas designated on the airport diagram as
hotspots to reduce the risk of a runway incursion. Hotspots are depicted on airport
diagrams as open circles or polygons designated as HS one, HS two, etc.
See Figure one Dash seven. Hot Spots will remain charted on airport diagrams
until the increased risk has been reduced or eliminated. Being proactive by knowing all
possible taxi routes and maintaining taxi route awareness helps mitigate runway incursions, especially when
navigating through complex intersections, known hotspot areas and intervening runways. End of Part
one of Appendix one.