1. Runway Safety John David
Vice President, Safety and Quality
NAV CANADA
October 30, 2012
Regional Runway Safety

2. Runway Incursion – ICAO Definition
Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft.
Runway incursions have sometimes led to serious accidents with significant loss of life. Although they are not a new problem, with increasing air traffic, runway incursions have been on the rise. The Procedures for Air Navigation Services — Air Traffic Management (PANS-ATM, Doc 4444) defines a runway incursion as:
“Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft.” 3

3. Runway Excursion – A Definition
A runway excursion occurs when an aircraft fails to confine its take off or landing to the designated runway. This may occur during the take off roll if the aircraft leaves the runway other than by becoming fully airborne or if an attempted landing is not completed within the confines of the intended runway.
This is a definition adopted by a runway safety prevention panel in Canada. Runway excursion accidents are not rare events. Some don’t involve much damage and there are no injuries; some are more serious and involve substantial damage; and some are deadly. 5

4. Note: Compliments, does not replace, Local Runway Safety Teams
RUNWAY SAFETY and INCURSION PREVENTION PANEL (RSIPP)
Provide a national forum for the exchange of safety related information pertaining to the movement of aircraft and vehicles in the vicinity of the runway.
In 2005, NAV CANADA proposed to other Canadian aviation stakeholders that a national interdisciplinary forum be formed to exchange information on runway safety. On January 1, 2006 the Runway Safety and Incursion Prevention Panel (RSIPP) came into effect. The mandate of the panel is to provide a national forum for the exchange of safety related information with the aim of promoting runway safety and reducing safety risks.
The panel meets at a minimum 3 times a year, and is chaired by NAV CANADA. The role of individual panel members is to solicit runway safety issues, recommendations and comments from the organizations they represent, and to present these to RSIPP.
It is important to note here that national panel in no way should replace or eliminate the use of Local Safety Runway Teams. Local teams play a very important and critical role in managing runway risks some of which are very unique to the local airport others may be more general in nature.
Note: Compliments, does not replace, Local Runway Safety Teams 8

5. RSIPP representatives from the Aviation Community:
Air Canada Pilots Association
Air Line Pilots Association
Air Traffic Specialists/ Local 2245 CAW
Air Transport Association of Canada
Canadian Airports Council
Canadian Air Traffic Control Association/CAW Local 5454
Canadian Business Aviation Association
Canadian Owners and Pilots Association
Conseil des Aéroports du Québec (CAQ)
National Airlines Council of Canada
NAV CANADA
Regional Community Airports Coalition of Canada (RCACC)
Transport Canada
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Here is a list of the RSIPP representatives. As you can see, members come from all areas of industry including associations, unions, the civil aviation authority and the safety board. It is critical that the correct membership is established if your panel is to be successful. 12

6. Runway Safety Team should have representatives from:
Team Composition
Runway Safety Team should have representatives from:
aerodrome operations,
air traffic service providers,
airlines or aircraft operators (e.g. business aircraft, general aviation, air ambulance, etc.)
pilot and air traffic controller associations,
organizations operating vehicles (e.g., fuel operators, caterers, etc.), and
any other groups with a direct involvement in runway operations.
As with the national runway safety panel, the composition of a local runway safety team. It is imperative that the right stakeholders be involved as the activities of wide range of groups can have an impact on runway safety. It is also often at the interfaces between and during the coordination of operational activities that hazards and risks can be introduced.
Therefore it is important that stakeholders have an opportunity to share information and discuss proposed mitigation. A mitigation implemented by one organization can inadvertently introduce a hazard into another’s. As such there must be an opportunity to discuss the risks and mitigations in a coordinated and transparent approach in order to minimize the likelihood of that happening.
Runway safety teams should have representatives from:
aerodrome operations,
air traffic service providers,
airlines or aircraft operators (e.g. business aircraft, general aviation, air ambulance, etc.)
pilot and air traffic controller associations,
organizations operating vehicles (e.g., fuel operators, caterers, etc.), and
any other groups with a direct involvement in runway operations. 16

7. Questions… 18