Contractor’s Final Report for ACRP RRD 6: Guidance for Identifying and Mitigating Approach Lighting System Hazards (2009)

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iii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH APPROACH ................................................................................................................ 6 RESEARCH APPROACH .............................................................................................................................................. 6 TASK STRUCTURE ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Task 1 – Literature Review .................................................................................................................................. 7 Task 2 – Incident Review ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Task 3 – Airport Operations Review .................................................................................................................... 7 Task 4 – Hazard Identification ............................................................................................................................ 7 Task 5 – Interim Report ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Task 6 – Panel Presentation ................................................................................................................................ 8 Task 7 – Procedure Development ........................................................................................................................ 8 Task 8 – Development of Mitigation Techniques ................................................................................................. 8 Task 9 – Guidelines Development ....................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 3: TASK FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................... 9 TASK 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 9 Current Standards ............................................................................................................................................... 9 System Electrical Design, Control, and Monitoring ............................................................................................ 9 Airport Emergency Procedures ......................................................................................................................... 22 Safety Management Systems .............................................................................................................................. 23 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 TASK 2 – INCIDENT REVIEW .................................................................................................................................... 25 ALS Strikes and Undershoots ............................................................................................................................ 37 ALS Strikes and Overruns .................................................................................................................................. 38 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 39 TASK 3 – AIRPORT OPERATIONS REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 39 Methods ............................................................................................................................................................. 39 Results ................................................................................................................................................................ 42 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 46 TASK 4 – HAZARD IDENTIFICATION ........................................................................................................................ 46 ACUTE HAZARDS AND ASSOCIATED RISKS ............................................................................................................. 46 Approach Lighting System Electrical Components ........................................................................................... 46 Approach Lighting System and Aircraft Debris ................................................................................................. 47 Response Hazards .............................................................................................................................................. 48 Risk Identification, Hazard Severity, and Overall Risk Level .......................................................................... ..50 TASK 7 – PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................................... 53 HAZARD AND RISK IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE PROCEDURE ........................................................................ 53 System Awareness and Risk Discussion ............................................................................................................. 53 System Component Risk Discussion................................................................................................................... 54 Debris and Associated Risks Discussion ........................................................................................................... 55 Incident Access Planning ................................................................................................................................... 56 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 57 TASK 8 – DEVELOPMENT OF MITIGATION TECHNIQUES .......................................................................................... 58 INCIDENT MITIGATION TECHNIQUES ....................................................................................................................... 58 Hazard/Risk: ...................................................................................................................................................... 58 Recommended Mitigation: ................................................................................................................................. 58 Future Mitigation: ............................................................................................................................................. 58 Hazard/Risk: ...................................................................................................................................................... 59 Recommended Mitigation: ................................................................................................................................. 59 Hazard/Risk: ...................................................................................................................................................... 59 Recommended Mitigation: ................................................................................................................................. 59

iv RESPONSE RISKS AND MITIGATION .........................................................................................................................59  COMMON MITIGATION STRATEGIES ........................................................................................................................60  Hazards and Risks: ............................................................................................................................................60  Group Review of Mitigation Techniques: ..........................................................................................................60  Cross-training Mitigation Techniques: ..............................................................................................................61  Response Planning and System Awareness Mitigation Strategies:....................................................................62  Approach Lighting System Access Planning:.....................................................................................................62  Summary of Common Mitigation Techniques ....................................................................................................63  SITUATION-SPECIFIC MITIGATION EFFORTS ............................................................................................................63  Tower Operations Planning...............................................................................................................................63 On-site Emergency Approach Lighting System Procedures...............................................................................64 On-site Accessibility, Debris, and Weather Planning ........................................................................................65 TASK 9 – GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT.....................................................................................................................66  CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................67  FUTURE RESEARCH .................................................................................................................................................68  REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................................................69  APPENDIX A. DEPLOYMENT SUMMARY OF APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES................................................................................................................................................................... A-1  APPENDIX B. APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM IDENTIFIED RISKS BASED ON AIRPORT TYPE..B-1 

vii AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research reported herein was performed under ACRP 04-03 by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and the Virginia Tech via Department of Civil Engineering. VTTI is the contractor for this study. The work was undertaken at VTTI under the prime contract. Dr. Ronald B. Gibbons, Group Leader, Lighting and Infrastructure Technology, Center for Vehicle Infrastructure Safety, VTTI, is the principal investigator. Dr. Antonio Trani, of the Via Department of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech and Chris Edwards at VTTI, are the co- Principal Investigators on this project. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of the FAA and Airport Operators of the Airports visited during the development of these research results.

viii ABSTRACT This final report presents the results of the research on approach lighting system (ALS) hazard identification and mitigation techniques. This final report contains detailed information for each of the tasks explored in this research project. In addition to this final report a separate and more concise guidebook was also produced that reviews ALS hazard identification and mitigation techniques. A literature review was conducted to identify both current and historical information regarding approach lighting systems. As part of the literature review process, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accident database was also accessed to identify undershoots and overrun ALS incidents. In an effort to gauge current hazards at a variety of airport locations, the research team also conducted on-site interviews with general aviation, reliever, and primary airports. In order to identify specific issues airport and FAA personnel were interviewed. At the conclusion of the interview process, the research team confirmed potential hazard issues and also identified areas needing improvement and mitigation techniques related to approach lighting system incidents. Those issues identified during the interview process were incorporated into an overview of approach lighting system hazards that also included items identified from the database review. Hazards were grouped in this way: acute incidents, hazards occurring during the onset of an incident, and post-incident factors that included electrical, fire, debris, terrain, and other aspects. At the conclusion of identifying these hazards the research team then developed a procedure for airport, ARFF, and FAA personnel to identify potential ALS hazards. The next task took these procedures and integrated the hazards identified from a previous task in order to provide potential ALS hazard solutions. These efforts were combined into a Guidebook and final report as part of the last task for this research project.