Reversing Overruns
Canadian airports need the longer runways being proposed by Transport Canada (TC) as a defense against runway overruns, which occur about once a month, Wendy Tadros, head of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), says.
Tadros said, in an article in the Canadian Skies e-newsletter, that Canada’s current regulatory standards are “disappointing” in that they lag behind international standards and best practices.
The current Canadian requirement calls for a 60-m (197-ft) buffer at the end of any runway that is 800 m (2,625 ft) or longer and recommends an additional 90-m (295-ft) runway end safety area (RESA) for runways that are 1,200 m (3,937 ft) or longer. The International Civil Aviation Organization requires buffer strips of at least 150 m (492 ft) but suggests that 300-m (984-ft) buffer areas would be better.
Under a TC proposal, many runways at Canadian airports would be required to install 150-m RESAs. Some airports alre…
