Confidential Human Factors
Incident Reporting Programme
The Charity
Aviation
Maritime
FC5405
Initial Report
I am an [Aircraft Type] captain based at [Airport]. Following the awful crash in Korea where an aircraft overran the runway and hit a concrete wall, I am concerned that we have a similar hazard at [Airport]. Three fuel trucks are parked right next to the ILS localiser antenna at the end of runway [XX]. I have raised this concern with airline management who have made enquiries of the airport management about what risk assessment has been carried out. I have not received a response as yet. Much is made of the Engineering Materials Arresting System (EMAS) system that has been installed at the runway end which is supposed to bring an aircraft to a halt, in the event of an overrun of the runway. All well and good! But the fuel trucks are parked only yards away from the end of EMAS! Surely there’s a safer place to park them?
Airport Comment
Thank you for passing this over for comment. You have correctly informed the reporter to raise their concerns in our electronic reporting system; their airline has all the links required for this. However [the issue raised] is factually incorrect. The only vehicles parked anywhere near the end of the runway (and these are beyond the EMAS installation) are airport busses (a maximum of 4) when closed and a maximum of 2 during operational hours. EMAS installation, as you state, will provide the stop for all aircraft types that are permitted to use the airport, and this is installed at both ends of the runway. The LRST provides a briefing with all airlines twice a year, and I would suggest that if the reporter still believes this to be of concern, then they should raise it through their own Safety Manager and/or Chief Pilot who are both in attendance. If the reporter has seen a fuel tanker in this area it is again well beyond the EMAS and will be while providing services to the aircraft parked at the Private Jet Centre. Finally, it should be stressed that while the airport operates with very tight margins due to its location, it completely complies with all legislation, CAA and international.
CHIRP Comment
[Airport] runway has been cleared for use by the CAA and therefore deemed safe from a regulatory compliance point of view, and with EMAS in place. CHIRP has suggested that the reporter put a similar report in via the airport SMS as well as the airline which should trigger a response from [Airport] HSE team. It also might result in the Local Runway Safety Team (LRST) becoming aware of the issue which, if they were unaware, would be useful. LRSTs are dedicated groups within an airport that focus on preventing runway incursions and excursions by identifying specific local safety issues, implementing targeted solutions, and conducting awareness campaigns for airport users. LRSTs are composed of representatives from the aerodrome operator, air traffic control, and airlines thereby providing a vital part of an airport’s overall safety management system. Informing the LRST should also result in the issue being considered for entry in the [Airport] SMS hazard log if not already entered.