Runway-Area Topographic Considerations in Airport Licensing

Runway-Area Topographic Considerations In Airport Licensing By Mr. Brian Hatcher, Mr. Todd Sullivan, Mr. Jeff Tedder, Mr. Jon Williams, and Dr. Charles D. Haynes Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama Prepared by UTCA University Transportation Center for Alabama The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville UTCA Report Number 03108 December 31, 2003 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient Catalog No. FHWA/CA/OR- 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Runway-area Topographic Considerations In Airport December 31, 2003 Licensing 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. Mr. Brian Hatcher, Mr. Todd Sullivan, Mr. Jeff Tedder, and Dr. Charles Haynes UTCA Final Report 03108 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. The University of Alabama Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering P.O Box 870205 11. Contract or Grant No. Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0205 DTSR002324 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered University Transportation Center for Alabama Final Report: January 1 – December 31, 2003 The University of Alabama Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 14. Sponsoring Agency Code P.O Box 870205 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0205 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract Alabama’s general use airports were studied by traditional surveying and global positioning satellite techniques to determine if natural or manmade topographic hazards existed in their runway protection zones (RPZ). The severity of obstructions in the RPZ was rated on a scale of 1-5, with the severity increasing with number. Many of the airports surveyed have significant obstructions in their RPZ and are a hazard to approaching and departing aircraft. The results of this study point to the use of a RPZ obstruction rating as part of the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) airport design algorithm. The data generated during this project was compiled as a Technical Appendix, published in two companion reports for this project (UTCA Reports 03108-A and 03108-B). Photographs were taken of runway-end conditions during the project; these were provided to the ALDOT Aviation Bureau. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Runway, approach, departure, airport design, topography, Protection zones 19. Security Class 20. Security Class 21. No of 22. Price (of this report) (of this page) Pages N/A N/A ii Contents Topic Page Contents …………………………………………………………………………… iii List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………… iv List of Figures …………………………………………………………………... v Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………….. vi 1.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 1 1.1 Study Purpose ……………………………………………………………... 1 1.2 Project Approach ………………………………………………………….. 2 2.0 General Aviation Overview 2.1 General Aviation Airports and Their Community …………………………. 3 2.2 Safety Impacts ……………………………………………………………… 3 3.0 Methodology ……………………………………………………………………. 5 3.1 Aerial Photographs and Topographic Pictures …………………………. …. 5 3.2 Field Surveying ……………………………………………………….......... 5 3.2.1 Stadia Survey ………………………………………………………… 5 3.2.2 GPS Verified Survey ………………………………………………… 6 3.2.3 Sight Verified Survey ………………………………………..... ……. 6 4.0 Project Results …………………………………………………………………. 7 5.0 Project Conclusions and Recommendations …………………………………… 13 6.0 References ……………………………………………………………………... 14 7.0 Technical Appendix Appendix 1: Airport Diagrams and Surveys ...…………………………….. 15 Appendix 2: Runway Protection Zone Obstruction Photographs ………..... 15 iii List of Tables 2-1 Obstructions Struck in Overrun Accidents……………………………………. 4 4-1 Airport Rankings………………………………………………………………. 8 List of Figures 2.1 Location of Runway Environment Accidents………………………………… 4 3.1 Safe Runway-End Topography, Marion County (Hamilton) Runway 18….... 7 3.2 Unsafe Runway-End Topography, George Downer (Aliceville) Runway 24… 7 4.1 Runway Topographic Data Form……………………………………………… 12 iv Executive Summary A study was performed to assess and rank the runway-area topography of Alabama’s general use airports. Traditional surveying and global positioning satellite techniques were used to identify topographic features that pose hazards to arriving and departing aircraft. Such hazards included, but were not restricted to: ditches, uneven terrain, adverse slopes, standing water, tree stumps, and manmade obstructions. The obstructions described above were ranked on a scale of 1-5, with larger numbers corresponding to more severe situations. Many airports were deemed to have sufficient obstructions to pose hazards to aircraft that might undershoot or overshoot the runway. Because of the number of topographic obstructions found in this study, it is recommended that runway-area topography be considered in the licensing algorithm for Alabama’s general use airports. The inspection data generated during this project was compiled as a Technical Appendix, which was published in two companion reports for this project (UTCA Reports 03108-A and 03108-B). Photographs taken of runway-end conditions were provided to the ALDOT Aviation Bureau. v Section 1 1.0 Introduction Over the last century, aviation has been a catalyst for economic growth and has enriched the quality of life for all Americans. It has connected every sector of business and every region of the world with its speed and convenience. As aviation grows, safety becomes the primary concern of communities and persons utilizing aviation facilities and opportunities. These concerns have caused the formation of agencies at state and federal levels focusing on safety, capacity, and efficiency. Civil aviation includes all commercial airline operations and general aviation (GA). GA, the focus of this project, includes all flights which are not scheduled or chartered. GA supports over 1.3 million high-skill, high-wage jobs comprising over one percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. The number of people using small aircraft for personal, business, and recreational purposes in the United States has increased to over 145 million passengers a year causing a corresponding increase in the demand for adequate GA airports. GA passengers currently have access to over 5,400 public use (or general use) airports located all over America. These public use airports are the responsibility of state governments that determine and apply safety criteria to ensure that airports in their responsible care operate according to these criteria (www.gaservingamerica. 2003). 1.1 Study Purpose The majority of aircraft accidents occur in the runway environment through loss of directional control because of mechanical failure, reverse thrust failure or misapplication, braking systems malfunction, and pilot error. When this happens, it sometimes results in excursions off the paved runway surface onto the runway end areas or locations adjacent to the runway. Obstructions such as large rocks, stumps, earth mounds, depressions, and manmade obstacles can turn what the FAA refers to as an “incident” into a full-blown accident. Federal guidelines for airport design specify certain grade limits at the end of runway centerlines as well as perpendicular to the centerline. These runway–end areas are termed runway protection zones (RPZ). State guidelines for new general use airport licensing follow federal guidelines (Horonjeff, et al. 1994), but older airports were often not designed for, or brought up to, these standards. Under current Alabama airport licensing conditions, inspection emphasis is given to obstacle clearance for runway approaches but not necessarily to the runway-end environment. This allows airports with unsafe terrain in the runway protection zones to obtain licensing while operating with unsafe conditions. Beginning January 1, 2005, Alabama inspection criteria will require that the land area beneath the approach and departure path for all publicly owned 1 runways, nominally 1,000 feet from the runway ends, be owned and/or managed by the airport owner. Currently, this control is encouraged but not enforced. This project inspected 82 Alabama GA airports to determine if unsafe topographic features existed in the runway environment. This generally included all property within 1,000 feet of a runway threshold. The primary objectives for this project were to: 1. Alert pilots of potentially unsafe runway-area obstructions conditions that may not be current in federal guides or consumer-oriented web sites such as AirNav.Com (AirNav.Com. 2003). 2. Rank the severity of these obstructions using a simple scale. 3. Determine if topographic features in the runway environment should be included in general use airport licensing criteria. 1.2 Project Approach The following work tasks were used to accomplish the project objectives: 1. Inventory runway-area topographies for 82 general use airports in Alabama. This hands-on phase created a runway topography survey data sheet for these airports. All hazardous topographical features in the runway-end environment were included in the database. 2. Incorporate topographic data into the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) Aviation Bureau licensing database. 3. Depending on the severity of the obstructions found in the runway-end environment, determine if these data should be included in the revised weighted airport-licensing procedures for Alabama’s general use airports. 2 Section 2 2.0 General Aviation Overview Public and private airports that

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