Port Authority Example Not an EMAS Save

In its announcement last week that more ESCO Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) beds have been authorized for installation at Kennedy, Newark and Teterboro Airports, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey declared that the EMAS already in place for Runway 6 at Teterboro had “safely stopped” one aircraft overrun a week after it was installed. That’s not accurate. Rather, in the Oct. 25, 2006 incident to which the Port Authority refers, a Challenger registered to Bank of America and operated by VoltronAir of St. Louis taxied accidentally into the EMAS after landing at night. Contrary to the Port Authority’s implication, the aircraft did not overrun the runway during its landing. Meanwhile, the Port Authority has authorized an EMAS for Teterboro Runway 19. A Port Authority spokesman said an installation timetable had not been set.