UK representative for ESCO
What are the odds of two aircraft overruns occurring at both ends of the same runway within the space of four days? Yet this unusual scenario actually occurred at Key West International Airport in Florida in 2011.
EMASMAX® versus Standard Runway End Safety Area (RESA)
A Gulfstream 150 business jet overran the west end of the runway and passed through an unpaved safety area before coming to a stop at the end of the airfield.
The aircraft sustained substantial damage, one passenger was hospitalised with a broken clavicle and ribs, another had minor cuts and bruises.
At 12:15 on Thursday, 3 November, a Cessna Citation 550 skidded 179 ft off the east end of the 4,800-ft runway and engaged an EMASMAX®. The energy-absorbing arrestor bed brought the private jet aircraft to a safe, controlled stop. The pilot, co-pilot and three passengers quickly exited the aircraft with no injuries. The aircraft suffered only minimal damage. Airport Director Peter Horton said that the safety material worked perfectly: “Not even a bruise or a scratch”.
- 19:45, Monday, 31 October 2011
- Key West International Airport, Florida
- West end of the runway
- Standard RESA
- 12:15, Thursday, 3 November 2011
- Key West International Airport, Florida
- East end of the runway
- EMASMAX®
Key West International Airport now has EMASMAX® installations at both ends of the runway.