Preventing Runway Accidents in Hazardous Conditions

Runway water, ice, or snow was a major factor in more than 100 airplane accidents between 1958 and 1993.

One of the principal goals of the global civil aviation industry is to reduce the fatal accident rate by a significant percentage in the years to come.

NASA Langley Research Center, Transport Canada, and the FAA have partnered up for an on-going winter runway friction measurement program involving instrumented aircraft, friction-measuring ground vehicles, and test personnel from around the globe.

Testing begun in January of 1996 and has used 9 instrumented aircraft and 16 ground test vehicles at test sites in Canada, the U.S., Norway, and Germany. Data collected during the time period 1996-2000 include nearly 400 instrumented aircraft test runs and more than 9,000 ground vehicle runs performed under bare and dry, rain and artificially wet, artificially flooded, loose and compacted snow, smooth and rough ice, sanded and chemically treated ice, and slush conditions.

The program will standardize friction values and breaking capabilities, which will give airport operators better procedures to evaluate runway friction and to maintain acceptable operating conditions. With that the program will contribute to reducing friction-related aircraft accidents.