Surface Safety Done Right
By: Faa Safety Briefing
Tags: Aviation Safety, Airports, Employees, General Aviation, Faasteam

It All Starts With a Plan

Since runway safety spans several different operational domains, the FAA’s effort takes on a collaborative approach to ensure all the key players have a say in the decision-making process. There are three main pillars of support: the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO), the Office of Airports (ARP), and the Flight Standards Service (FS). Each of these three, along with a supporting cast of internal and industry stakeholders, plays a distinct role in how surface safety is executed in the National Airspace System (NAS).

These collaborative efforts are also in line with the agency’s guiding light on surface safety, the National Runway Safety Plan (NRSP). This report provides the framework for the FAA’s risk-based and data-driven approach towards enhancing NAS safety on a local, national, and international scale. Its success stems from the integration of Safety Management System (SMS) principles to create a systematic approach for managing safety. A prime example of the NRSP’s effectiveness has been the ability to identify wrong surface operations as a rising risk in recent years, and to create an action plan to mitigate that risk.

Air Traffic Organization

While the NRSP provides the overarching strategy for improving runway safety, FAA Order 7050.1B, Runway Safety Program (PDF download), details the organizational structure and policy framework necessary to carry out the plan’s initiatives. As outlined in the Order, the focal point for the FAA’s runway safety initiatives is ATO’s Safety and Technical Training Directorate which provides executive level oversight of the FAA’s Runway Safety Program. But where you’re more likely to see the “rubber hit the runway” in terms of day-to-day execution is with the Runway Safety Group (RSG), formerly known as the Office of Runway Safety. This group is broken out into three main service areas: Eastern, Central, and Western, as well as a headquarters team in Washington, D.C. Each service area is further split into three regions to ensure proper coverage of the NAS (see Figure 1). The service areas (including headquarters) each have a team manager, and there are regional runway safety program managers in place at all nine regions.

Figure 1: FAA Runway Safety Group Service Areas & Regional Offices

RSG members at the regional level routinely work with local airports, flight schools, airport tenants, and various other stakeholders to research and resolve runway safety issues, develop regional runway safety plans, and provide outreach at events. These are among the people you’re likely to see chatting up pilots at a fly-in or discussing airport hot spots at the local Runway Safety Action Team (RSAT) meetings (more on that later). Service area involvement in the RSG tends to be on a broader scale with an emphasis on managing air traffic resources for that area.

Screenshot of the Runway Safety Group’s weekly “Making the Connection” meeting where participants from headquarters, field offices, and stakeholder groups share and discuss surface safety information.

One unique difference is with the headquarters service area. This group is responsible for coordinating with the Runway Safety Council (RSC), an executive steering committee that is a combination of agency and industry partners. RSC members work together to identify root causes of surface safety issues and develop mitigation plans. Airmen and operators get a seat at the table for policy decisions via representative organizations like AOPA, EAA, NBAA, or the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. The RSC also corrals various FAA resources across different lines of business to ensure a holistic approach to problem-solving. This process will be formalized in an upcoming revision to the 7050.1 Order and will give the RSC more of a lead role in resolving critical runway safety issues and promoting a more proactive safety culture.

Headquarters service area runway safety program manager Christine Madden works closely with the RSC and the associated Surface Safety Group (SSG), a collaborative team of subject matter experts across the FAA and industry who develop and monitor surface safety initiatives in line with RSC objectives. A major focus for Christine and the SSG is outreach. Together they have developed tools to educate both vehicle drivers and pilots on how to prevent runway incursions. Two recent examples include the Runway Safety Pilot Simulator and the From the Flight Deck video series that details runway safety strategies at specific airports.