Wed, Jun 07, 2006
Will Add EMAS To Two Runways
Six months after a tragic runway overrun at Chicago's Midway
Airport, the FAA has authorized $15 million to be spent in an
effort to ensure such an event will never happen again.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the money will be used to begin
construction of soft concrete beds -- known as the Engineered
Materials Arresting System -- at ends of two of Midway's four
runways. The EMAS system consists of bricks designed to collapse
under the weight of a speeding jet, slowing the aircraft down
before it can run off the end of the runway.
In April, Chicago city officials submitted a $40 million
proposal to the FAA to install the concrete beds at the ends of all
its runways... and while Midway didn't get all the money requested,
the FAA believes it will give Midway a good place to start.
"We wanted to get them started on it because the work is so
important," FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said to the Associated
Press.
Such a system may have been able to stop the Southwest Airlines
jet that crashed through a perimeter fence and
onto a nearby road on December 8, 2005, striking a
passing car and killing a 6-year-old boy inside.
Midway is one of nearly 300 commercial airports nationwide that
don't meet the FAA's requirement for 1,000-foot safety zones at the
end of runways -- but the installation of EMAS will bring Midway
into compliance.
Congress has said all affected airports need to either meet the
1,000-foot requirement -- or provide alternatives -- by 2015.
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]