The National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) Safety Committee is currently encouraging members to respond to a survey attempting to address problems of runway incursions.
The online questionnaire, funded by the Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability, is aimed at garnering general aviation (GA) pilot input about situations and problems they encounter when flying into airports, especially those without control towers or radar coverage. GA pilots are involved in about 80 percent of runway incursions, according to the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators.
“Nobody consciously takes the risk of possibly being involved in a runway incursion,” Ben Kohler, a member of the NBAA Safety Committee, said. “But there are so many factors that come into play… it’s easier to have one of those bite you than you think. Just having a stabilized approach is no guarantee of mitigating or avoiding the risk.”
The FAA defines a runway incursion as any occurrence involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft.
Because business aircraft operators share runways with many recreational GA pilots, the committee said input from the NBAA pilot community is important in developing a comprehensive and accurate response for researchers.
Kohler referred to the Safety Committee report titled Reducing Business Aviation Runway Excursions as a potential tool for operators to use in identifying risk factors that lead to runway incursions.