Importance of Runway Incursion Mitigation and the Role of Safety Improvements with Perimeter Taxiway Operations at Heathrow Airport

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1. Background of the Study1

1.2. Problem Statement3

1.3. Purpose of the Study3

1.4. Aims and Objectives4

1.5. Rationale of the Study5

1.6. Research Questions7

1.7. Significance of the Study7

1.8. Ethical Considerations8

1.9. Definition of Terms8

REFERENCES9

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

Recently, an increase in the number of runway incursions is observed. Size of an airport, in terms of number of movements, is one factor in the occurrence of runway incursions. Several other aspects play a role, such as complex runway configurations, taxiway connections, and runway operational procedures. Many airports operate two (or more) runways simultaneously. This is a possible cause for mistakes by pilots. Some airports have difficult taxiing procedures, including crossing other open runways (Jung, 2003). Besides, taxi-clearances are usually relative long and a cause for confusion and mistakes. Several airports are currently investigating increasing their capacity by alternative usage of available runway infrastructure such as using intersecting runways, converging runways, runway crossings, and mixed mode operations.

It is often considered that, in the process of security screening, high level of security measures are often inversely related to speed of the checking process and thus, reduces the efficiency of the process. Over the next 15 years, the activities of airlines are expected to increase globally. If the current high rate of accidents continues, the fact remains that the statistical viewpoint, the number of airline accidents will increase. Since safety is the priority of the department, the challenge for aviation managers as well as other aviation authorities will discover innovative ways to curb this trend by further reducing the accident rate (Jason, 2007). Beside this, threat of being attacked or victimised by a terrorist attack, aviation authorities throughout the world are investing more in air port security and all that security investments have been extracted from the travellers' pockets which in turn are also contributing in the decrease of air travellers (Jacobson, 2003).

On any given day at airports worldwide a runway incursion can occur. Although a wide variety of causes exist, this research addresses the need to recognise the risks associated when security apparatus enter the active airfield area. Standard operational procedures exist for a majority of emergency incident responses at Heathrow Airport. A runway prevention plan provides an opportunity for the airport security officials to focus on situational awareness with clear, concise process for operating on the active airfield (Lazar, 2004).

The BAA defines a “runway incursion as any occurrence in the airport runway environment involving an aircraft, vehicle, or object on the ground that creates a collision hazard or results in a loss of required separation with an aircraft taking off, intending to take off, landing or intending to land”. Between 1999 and 2002 there were 1,480 runway incursions for the 268 million operations at towered airports in the UK. The severity ranges from a low of category D to a high of category A depending on the nature of the incident at the airport (Landeghem, ...