Runway overruns
I hope it is ok to start a separate thread on this, following on from the AF incident at YYZ last week (Mods, please merge if this is not appropriate).
Whenever safety improvements at airports are discussed, I would usually be the first one to stand up and say "how about making the roads safer, the biggest risk is always in getting to and from the airport".
However, incidents such as last week's over-run are often opportunities to improve safety, especially if there are methods which have been implemented elsewhere (eg at JFK), and which appear be effective.
As anyone in the Midlands knows, there is a vociferous anti lobby here at CVT, and one of their oft-reported gripes is their claim that the runway "is not long enough".
Whilst the chances of a serious incident are always small, "on a long enough timeline" (to quote TD in Fight Club), lots of very small numbers add up to one.
05 at CVT is just "yards" from one such dangerous road junction, and there is an embankment leading on to it which wouldn't do any a/c's hull much good in the best conditions.
BHX is also very close to the A45, although talk of runway extensions might well mean bridging this over, and presumably leading to an over-run into surrounding fields, whereas LTN also often gets mentioned for having a steep embankment with approach road at the bottom.
I'd hate to think of the consequences of an over-run onto the mainline at LGW either.
My understanding is that at CVT at least, the "start up strips" are of the same surface material as the rest of the runway, and therefore can they really offer much help in slowing down an aircraft in an emergency?
Please excuse my lack of detailed knowledge about runway surface materials, but I would appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on the potential costs and benefits of these features.