Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Becomes First In Florida To Install Arresting System

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was in Florida last week to award Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport an $8.5 million grant for the installation of an engineered material arresting system. That makes Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood the first airport in Florida to install such a system.

"We're making a down payment on the future of aviation," Blakey said as jets took off behind her. "It's high technology. It's new technology, and it works." She was quoted in the Miami Herald. "We think it's very forward-thinking on the part of Fort Lauderdale."

EMAS is designed to keep an aircraft from careening out-of-control off the end of a runway. Using light-density concrete, the system is supposed to be effective on aircraft at speeds of up to 70 mph, according to the FAA's circular on EMAS.

It's especially valuable at older airports, which don't meet the FAA's requirement for a 1,000 buffer zone on each end of a runway.

Installation of the EMAS system at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood is expected to begin next month, according to the Herald. It's already in use at several airports nationwide.

FMI: www.faa.gov/arp/pdf/5220-22.pdf