Vanquishing the V/PD

4th Quarter 2017 

A quarterly publication from the

Safety Section

Federal Aviation Administration Airports Division

Western-Pacific Region

This publication is directed primarily towards airport management to be disseminated to 

all levels of personnel working at your airfield. Vanquishing the V/PD can be 

accomplished through a solid partnership between the FAA and airport management. The 

responsibility of making sure that the proper safeguards are in place, however, lies 

squarely on the shoulders of airport management. Please use this information and all that 

follows as a guide by which to provide a safer environment at your airfield.

Poorly escorted guests, delivery personnel and family members continue to be a major 

cause of vehicle/pedestrian deviations (V/PDs) in the Western-Pacific Region. This, not 

only causes a hazard to aircraft but puts the poorly escorted individual in danger. To a 

certain degree, it is not so much the fault of the visitor as it is the fault of the escort. The 

visitor is unfamiliar with the airport environment and can easily become disoriented. On 

the other hand, the escort is familiar with the airport environment and can prevent a 

visitor from straying into the movement area without an air traffic control tower (ATCT) 

clearance. While reviewing the V/PDs that occurred in the calendar year of 2017, it 

appeared that most escorting procedures failed in the following areas: 

• Abandonment: This occurs when the escort abandons those he is responsible to 

supervise. At one general aviation airport in our region, a member of the airport 

staff escorted a carpet cleaner onto the airport to a tenant business. The airport 

staff then left the driver with directions how to exit the airport. After completing 

his work, the unattended carpet cleaner tried to exit the airport, became 

disoriented and drove his pick-up truck down numerous taxiways. 

• Unpredictable actions: At a busy certificated airport in our region, a line 

technician was escorting two busses that were involved in a passenger loading 

operation at a fixed based operator (FBO). The line technician had thoroughly 

briefed the drivers of both vehicles before they entered the ramp. When the 
loading operation was over, one passenger bus expectantly broke away from the 

escorted group, drove across a service road and the non-movement area marking, 

onto an active taxiway, and drove westbound. Perhaps realizing his error, the 

driver turned around and returned to the ramp where he was intercepted by his 

escort. The driver claims that he had been left alone by the escort and that he 

thought that he was cleared to re-locate to the entry gate. 

• Ignorance: At another general aviation airport a pedestrian was standing at the 

intersection of two taxiways taking pictures of his friend who was flying an 

aircraft that day. The aircraft was in the run-up area at the time of the incident. 

Neither the pilot nor the pedestrian understood that an escort was necessary. 

• Unauthorized Access: An unauthorized vehicle crossed a parallel taxiway and an 

active runway at a busy general aviation airport. After being intercepted by the 

city police the driver stated that he was provided access to the airfield by a tenant 

who did not follow the established airport rules and regulations regarding access

and escorts. 

• Friends and family members: The father of a non-aviation tenant loaned a golf 

cart to his daughter so she could driver herself to the restrooms. On the return trip 

the daughter became disoriented and drove the golf cart onto an active runway. 

The most important aspect of escorting is understanding that the escort is responsible for 

the actions of the visitor for the entire time the visitor is on the airfield. It is, therefore, 

necessary for the escort to remain with the visitor the entire time they are present on the 

airfield. If the escort does not want to assume this responsibility, then do not allow the 

visitor access. 

If you escort a visitor who is driving a vehicle, provide that visitor with a thorough 

briefing of all the escorting procedures you intend to use. If you are in separate vehicles, 

agree upon a system both of you will use to communicate. And above all, always plan a 

strategy you will use should be visitor take unpredictable and unexpected actions. 

Column written by: 

Steven Oetzell

Lead Airport Certification Safety Inspector, AWP-620.6 

Reproductions of this, past and subsequent issues of Vanquishing the VPD are available 

on FAAWebsite: 

http://www.faa.gov/airports/western_pacific/airports_news_events/vanquishing_vpd_new

sletters/