An Amazon cargo plane overran a Miami runway by 1,200 feet in September, killing five people. The NTSB is now asking whether a runway-end safety system called EMAS could have made a difference — and why most U.S. airports don’t have one. EMAS uses crushable concrete blocks that collapse under an aircraft’s weight to absorb energy and stop a plane from plowing past the runway. It has stopped aircraft in 26 overruns, but the FAA says only 70 facilities nationwide have it installed, just 12 of them major airports.
The system is optional and expensive, and it has limits. It’s currently designed for aircraft leaving a runway at up to 70 knots. The Miami jet left at 112 knots, so even a properly sized bed might not have stopped it. The FAA has investigated more than 3,000 runway excursions since 2008, yet EMAS still isn’t required, even at airports without the standard 1,000-foot runway safety buffer.
For Suncoast travelers, this is a local story too. Thousands of us fly out of Sarasota-Bradenton and Tampa International every week, and runway ends here don’t always have much room to spare. The debate over cost versus risk is playing out at airports across Florida.
Would you support making EMAS mandatory at every commercial airport, even if it means higher airport costs? Let us know in the comments.
