A disproportionate number of runway side excursions — veer-offs — that occur in reduced visibility also occur on wider-than-usual runways, especially those without centerline lighting, the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.
The ATSB said, in a report released Wednesday about a Dec. 16, 2016, veer-off involving a Boeing 737 at Darwin Airport, that it reviewed 15 similar runway excursions in Australia, Canada and elsewhere and found that all 15 occurred at night, in reduced visibility and on runways without centerline lights.
Eleven of the 15 veer-offs occurred on runways wider than 50 m (164 ft), and 13 occurred during a Category 1 instrument landing system approach, the report said. The other two occurred during non-precision approaches on runways narrower than 50 m. In addition, 13 veer-offs involved high-capacity air transport aircraft — those with more than 3…
