Writer

Amy Wilder

The FAA credited engineered materials arresting systems (EMAS) with safely stopping two business jets in separate runway overruns on September 3. Administrator Bryan Bedford called the technology “lifesaving” after EMAS beds halted a Gulfstream G150 at Chicago Executive Airport (KPWK) and a Bombardier Challenger 300 at Boca Raton Airport (KBCT).
EMAS technology consists of a bed of lightweight, crushable material placed at the end of a runway to stop aircraft that overshoot, undershoot, or veer off the runway surface. According to the FAA, the system reduces the risk of potentially catastrophic accidents by slowing aircraft rapidly without requiring pilot action. In both September 3 occurrences, the aircraft risked entering busy roadways but stopped short.&nbsp;
At Chicago Executive Airport, the Gulfstream overran the north end of the runway after landing. NBC Chicago reported the jet “crashed through a fence on the north end of the airport Wednesday, coming just inches from a roadway near the scene.” The two people on board were uninjured. Local officials told NBC that the EMAS installation helped keep the aircraft from reaching Hintz Road, which was temporarily closed.&nbsp;
The same day in Florida, a Challenger 300 arriving from Las Vegas overran the runway at Boca Raton Airport. NBC South Florida reported on the overrun and posted video that “shows the moments that an airplane that overran the runway…was safely stopped by the EMAS system.” Four people were on board, and no injuries were reported. The footage aired by the station showed the aircraft sliding into the arrestor bed and stopping abruptly in a cloud of debris, short of a nearby roadway.
There are 122 EMAS systems installed at 70 U.S. airports, and the FAA reports that the technology has stopped 24 aircraft that passed the end of the runway.&nbsp;
“Incidents in Chicago and Boca Raton clearly demonstrate the lifesaving value of EMAS technology,” Bedford said. “These two systems did exactly what they’re designed to do—stop aircraft safely when they go off the runway. This technology is making a real difference in preventing serious accidents.”
The FAA began exploring overrun arresting technology in the 1990s to address airports where the full runway safety area could not be built because of terrain, waterways, or nearby development. Working with the University of Dayton, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation, engineers developed a method of placing a bed of crushable material at the end of a runway, creating a zone in which tires sink and the airplane comes to a controlled stop.
Today, EMAS products are manufactured by Runway Safe, which acquired the EMASMAX range in 2020. The company produces two FAA-accepted systems: EMASMAX, composed of blocks of lightweight cellular cement, and greenEMAS, which uses foamed silica made from recycled glass contained within a mesh-and-cement structure. Both are typically built to the full width of the runway, with the length determined by the airport’s layout and aircraft operations. The FAA reviews and accepts each installation proposal.

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