Runway Incursions

Learn about preventing Runway Incursions at Machester Airport

What is a Runway Incursion?

A runway incursion is defined as the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designed for the landing and take-off of aircraft.

In its most benign form, a runway incursion could be as simple as a pilot edging an aircraft slightly beyond the runway holding point markings, similar to a vehicle driver going slightly too far when approaching a red light on a public road. In its most serious form, a runway incursion could result in a collision between two aircraft, or with a vehicle/person.

Runway Incursion Event Severity Categories

For the purposes of global harmonisation and effective data sharing, runway incursion events are placed into severity categories, as defined by ICAO:

Category	Description
Accident	Refer to ICAO definition of an accident.
A	A serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided.
B	An incident in which separation decreases and there is a significant potential for collision which may result in a time critical corrective/evasive response to avoid a collision.
C	An incident in which separation decreases and there is a significant potential for collision which may result in a time critical corrective/evasive response to avoid a collision.
D	An incident which meets the definition of a runway incursion such as the incorrect presence of a vehicle/person or aircraft on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft but with no immediate safety consequences.
E	Insufficient information or inconclusive or conflicting evidence precludes a severity assessment.

Factors that influence severity:

Proximity of the aircraft and/or vehicle/ person.
Geometry of the encounter (aircraft head in the same or opposite directions).
Evasive or corrective action (hard braking, go-around, swerving, rejected take-off, early rotation on take-off).
Available reaction time (encounters that allow little reaction time are more severe than those in which there is ample time to respond).
Environmental conditions (weather, visibility, surface conditions).
System performance (Communication failures and/or errors).

What are the Effects of a Runway Incursion?

The effects of a runway incursion are the increased risk of a collision involving an aircraft on the ground. In contrast to collisions on a taxiway where aircraft and vehicles are moving more slowly, a collision on a runway is very likely to be high energy ie: an aircraft is moving at significant speed which increases the risk of serious aircraft damage and in turn, potential for serious injuries and/or fatalities.

What are the Most Common Types of Runway Incursion?

Incorrect entry of an aircraft or vehicle onto the runway protected area. This could be due to misunderstanding an ATC instruction, entering the protected area without ATC instruction, or ATC giving an incorrect instruction.
Incorrect spacing between successive arriving aircraft or between arriving and departing aircraft.
Aircraft landing or taking-off without ATC clearance.
A vehicle entering the runway protected area without ATC clearance.

What are the Most Common Contributing Factors?

Factors	Description / Examples
Latent Conditions – Conditions present in the system before the incursion and triggered by various possible factors.
Training	Includes inadequate training for air traffic controllers, pilots or airside vehicle drivers.
Procedure	Inadequate, inappropriate, or absent procedures.
Regulatory Oversight	Inadequate regulatory oversight by the State.
Safety Management	Absent or ineffective safety management.
Aerodrome Design	Complex or inadequate aerodrome design such as the complexity of the layout of roads and taxiways adjacent to the runway, intersecting/crossing runways, insufficient spacing between parallel runways, departure taxiways that fail to intersect active runways at right angles, and no end-loop perimeter taxiways to avoid crossings. Inadequate or poorly maintained visual aids (including signs, markings, and lighting). Poorly maintained runways (friction etc.).
Workplace Conditions	Covers issues such as the ‘sterile cockpit’ environment when pilots are taxiing. For air traffic controllers, human-machine interface and ergonomics affecting their ability to maintain, as far as practicable, a continuous ‘heads up’ visual scan of the aerodrome with unimpeded visual ‘lines of sight’ or the use of surveillance systems such as A- SMGCS.
Threats – An event or error that occurs outside the influence of the flight crew or vehicle driver, but which requires attention and management if safety margins are to be maintained.
Meteorology	Includes poor visibility, rain, snow and icing conditions (that may obscure visual aids).
Active Human Performance – Human Performance Limitations including false perceptions, memory lapses and reduced situational awareness.
Flight Crew Factors	Includes inadvertent non-compliance with ATC instructions, in particular take-off or landing without clearance.
Airside Vehicle Driver Factors	May include not obtaining a clearance or non-compliance with ATC instructions.
Air Traffic Controller Factors	May include clearing aircraft to land/depart on an occupied runway, not monitoring aircraft position on approach to intersecting runways and clearing aircraft to cross runway with aircraft on departure/landing roll.
Comms Errors	A breakdown in communications between air traffic controllers and pilots or airside vehicle drivers often related to the read-back/hear-back procedure or flight crew English language competence.

What are Our Defences Against Runway Incursions?

There are several defences that aerodrome operators, flight crews, Air Traffic Control and vehicle drivers can use to help prevent a runway incursion. In no particular order some examples are:

Flight crews and vehicle drivers should maintain situational awareness when on the manoeuvring area ensuring they are aware of their own location and that of other aircraft and vehicles particularly in relation to active runways. Heightened awareness will be required during periods of poor weather such as heavy rain, mist/fog and snow.
Ensure that up-to-date aerodrome charts are available in all vehicles that use the manoeuvring area.
Aerodrome infrastructure should be maintained to a high standard. Runway holding point markings, stopbar lights and associated signs should be clearly visible.
As far as reasonably practicable, aerodrome design should avoid confusing layouts of runways and taxiways. Any areas identified as having a history of incidents or identified as having a potential to cause confusion should be highlighted on aerodrome charts as a hotspot.
Taxiway naming conventions, particularly those in close proximity to runways should be simple and unambiguous.
Use of ICAO standard phraseology, always. This is particularly important when Air Traffic Controllers are working with flight crews who are non-native English speakers.

IF IN DOUBT ABOUT YOUR POSITION OR AN INSTRUCTION YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN, STOP AND ASK AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL.

Further advice

Local Runway Safety Team

Learn more about the Local Runway Safety Team

Runway Excursions

Learn more about how to prevent Runway Excursions

Flight Crews

Advice for Flight Crews on how to improve Runway Safety

Airside Vehicle Drivers

Advice for Airside Vehicle Drivers on how to improve Runway Safety

Manchester Airport would like to send you marketing emails and SMS regarding:

Airport discounts
Competitions
Services and announcements

We take your privacy seriously. Read our Privacy Notice to find out how we handle and process your personal information. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.