Working with business
Improving airfield safety worldwide
- Aircraft accident modelling, developed by º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ experts, makes global air travel safer.
With 90% of commercial aviation accidents occurring during take-off and landing, on-going research is striving to improve airfield safety.
A new method for classifying aircraft accidents and modelling the effectiveness of runway end safety areas (RESAs) developed by º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ experts is making global air travel safer.
Analysis of incidents over a 20-year period enabled four accident categories, the risk factors involved in each and statistically significant trends to be identified and modelled.
The resulting system now informs RESA design guidelines for improving airport safety.
Research to further enhance the capabilities of the model is underway, and an off-airport crash model for the UK’s Health and Safety Executive is currently being developed.
Impact
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National guidelines
The research findings have been incorporated into national guidelines and have changed RESA design and evaluation practices
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Validation and use
Eight north American airports have validated the methodology and three have adopted it
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Planning
The methodology formed the basis of evidence given to the planning inquiry into the proposed expansion of London Ashford Airport
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New risk assessments
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ researchers are currently working with a number of industry stakeholders – including the Office for Nuclear Regulation – to establish new, more reliable risk assessments.
