Potential for Deadly Over-Run at Essendon

[Centaurus]

REJECTED TAKEOFF OVERRUN PROMPTS STERILE COCKPIT CONCERNS
A Jan. 19 event that saw US Airways Express Flight 2495 abort its takeoff and run off the runway at Yeager Airport in Charleston, W. Va., has been linked to irrelevant cockpit chatter prior to the takeoff roll and an improper flap setting. None of the 34 people aboard the Bombardier CRJ-200ER were seriously injured though the aircraft suffered damage when it plowed into a crushable concrete safety area at the end of the runway



With the Tullamarine Freeway relatively close to the departure end of Essendon Runway 26 and closer still to departure end of runway 17 it doesn't take much imagination to see the potential for disaster if one of the big corporate jets over-runs the current runway safety end.

Crushable concrete or other means of slowing an aircraft aborting or over-runnng at high speed have been in operation at many airports in USA. The above incident to a Bombardier is case in point. I wonder if the Essendon Airport Authority or the relevant State authority have considered this for Essendon Airport.

[PLovett]

Centaurus, please don't encourage them to think of such things at Essendon. You know they will take the easy step of closing the airport instead of actually spending anything on it. :ugh:

[By George]

I remember the PN68 that went through a house roof backwards ex runway 26 and the DH104 Dove that ended up in the driveway of another house, so the locals are well trained in all things aeronautical.

[an3_bolt]

I would be more worried about the overhead tram power lines next to the freeway- could be simply "shocking"....:}

[Mach E Avelli]

A corporate jet over-run is an unlikely problem. All have or should have accelerate-stop/go capability.
If really concerned, ban all the singles and light twins that CAN'T clear the houses, tramlines or freeway after an EFATO. A concrete crash barrier won't do these things much good if an engine quits just as they clear it. Send the bugsmashers somewhere suitable for their own and everyone elses' safety.
Don't ban the airport - we have enough of these assets under threat already.
And if you think I am anti-bugsmasher, I am not. I fly a very light single sometimes, but no way it's ever going near Essendon or any similar airport where the options for a forced landing are so limited.

[SGT Schulz]

Add MKY Runway 32 to the list. A well positioned open storm water drains, a major road, and junior soccer fields. Although not much wreckage would make it past the arrester drains.

[Buster Hyman]

I would be more worried about the overhead tram power lines next to the freeway
FFS! Don't damage them! It takes long enough to get to the City now without an aircraft ruining our day!!

;)

[Old Akro]

What a croc! How long has Essendon been operating as an airport? 1910, earlier? If it hasn't been a problem in the last 100 years, what would lead anyone not being mischievous to think that its about to become a problem?

[A37575]

A corporate jet over-run is an unlikely problem. All have or should have accelerate-stop/go capability.

Careful. That statement may just mozz the corporate people one wet night. Corporate jets are just like any other airline type - they all have accelerate/stop capability but that hasn't prevented over-runs from happening if the pilot makes a dodgy decision near V1. Over-runs on landing also have been known to occur with airline jets.

Flight International 2-8 Feb just to hand: "A crushable concrete arresting system designed and installed by Zodiac subsidiary Esco prevented a PSA Airlines CRJ200 from plunging down an embankment at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after a high-speed rejected take off.

It came to rest 45 metres into a 123 metres engineered material arresting system (EMAS) bed. There were no injuries to the passengers and crew.

The airport installed the system at the end of runway 23 in May 2007 to prevent aircraft from descending a steep hillside directly behind the runway.

The 123m EMAS bed provides the equivalent of an FAA-required 305m safety area for the types of aircraft using the airport. It is designed to stop an aircraft the size of a CRJ travelling at 70 knots with no reverse thrust and poor braking, as it leaves the runway

The EMAS system has been credited with preventing six accidents to date including the Charleston overun and the capture of a Mexican Airbus A320 at Chicago after a landing excursion in 2008.

More than 44 EMAS systems have been installed in USA.

Now - about these corporate jets that are unlikely to have an overun simply because they can stop from V1. Meaningless, don't you agree?

[Howard Hughes]

Phew, glad I made it out alive this morning...:E

[bushy]

What sort of town planners are we using these days?
The over run areas should have sewage farms or golf courses etc, not houses etc. If there is a prang we should sue the planners/developers. Maybe we should not wait.

[Socket]

Potential for Deadly Over-Run at Essendon

How about

Potential for House fires to spread to Airport. All houses to be enclosed in fireproof containers. Home owners who built next to long standing airport accused of shoddy building practices using flammable materials for construction and putting innocent airport users at risk. Potential for the spread of fire to put life and property at risk reported.
:}

[eocvictim]

Or

Potential risk to aircraft and pilots due to poor residential placement. ?:ouch:

[Buster Hyman]

Perhaps...

Free Fruitcake for everyone flying through Essendon!

[Wally Mk2]

"HH" what you do in our neck of da woods? They let you out past the great divide hey?:}..............risky.And talk about risky me see one of dose PC thingies in 2day, God I looks at da crew & thought, there goes real aviator men:}....
Best time to have an out of control over-run @ EN to the Sth & West is during peak hr traffic, the houses are safe as eggs as ya will never reach the houses with so many cars to arrest yr trajectory!:} Bit like that engineered crushable concrete stuff only cars can be used to crush!




Wmk2

[Howard Hughes]

"HH" what you do in our neck of da woods? They let you out past the great divide hey?
I was lost...:E

[Mach E Avelli]

When the runway is wet which is often enough, wet runway performance buffers and techniques should be applied to the aforementioned corporate jets. Simple stuff like reduced payloads, higher flap settings and minimum V1 SHOULD mean that an over-run is still very unlikely. But of course it COULD still happen. Through all the years they ran L188s, DC9s and B727s ( which were seriously performance-limited at that airport ) I don't think they ever had an over-run. Maybe the historians know otherwise? So of COURSE a frangible concrete crash barrier is an excellent idea. All airports should have them. But, when I drive past on the freeway it's not the jets at V1 that I think about; it's that fully-loaded Chieftain already airborne and coming straight at me....

[tio540]

So of COURSE a frangible concrete crash barrier is an excellent idea.


There was a study some time ago that suggested due to the number of road fatalities caused by trees beside the road, that all trees should be removed.

In my cloudy memory very few aircraft would have been saved at En with a crash barrier.