Story ID: 
Sometimes nothing helps
By: AIN Staff
Caption: The FAA wonders why pilots occasionally land on taxiways, and in new Engineering Brief No.
Word Count: 99
The FAA wonders why pilots occasionally land on taxiways, and in new Engineering Brief No. 72 recommended “mitigation measures” to prevent such landings. Airports should identify potential problem areas such as “visual contrast of the taxiway compared to the runway; natural lighting conditions at the airfield; and the existence of parallel runways.” However, the brief explained, “Not all incidents of landing on taxiways can be prevented by measures under the control of the airport. Indeed, some recent incidents defy all logic as to why they occur and are unlikely to be affected by any marking, lighting or airport layout initiatives.”