Q&A w/ CEO
Charting the path forward in safety
“One day, ABARs may be mandated as a must-have component in standard operating procedures for both airlines and airports.”
about JOE
Joe Vickers has spent his aviation career in leadership positions at several airlines – including Managing Director at the United Airlines Operations Control Center – as well as in the air as a licensed pilot. Recently, Joe sat down to discuss the FAA’s recent directive regarding the mitigation of runway excursions, and Aviation Safety Technologies' role in this journey.
Q: Why is the FAA’s 2023 directive about mitigating runway excursions getting so much attention these days?
Joe: Runway excursions are an inherent risk associated with commercial aviation. They occur more frequently than many people realize, threatening human injury or death. The FAA recognizes that science has changed the game in how braking effectiveness on contaminated runways is measured and reported, thereby helping to reduce the risk of excursions.
Runway excursions represent an avoidable risk that can be mitigated or reduced using software that analyzes braking friction data taken directly from aircraft sensors.
The FAA is proactively embracing this technology.
Q: You’re referring to the FAA’s 2023 "recommended action" for airlines and airports to embrace data-based braking action reports?
Joe: The aviation industry is always looking for new ways to improve safety. Reducing the risk of runway excursions is part of that safety imperative. Let’s say you’re a pilot on approach. The runway is contaminated with water, snow, ice, or other contaminants. What did the pilot who just landed experience – what was the actual braking friction available – and what can I expect when I land?
Technology is now available to help, and the FAA wants airlines and airports to explore and embrace that technology.
Q: What about the pilots?
Joe: The commercial pilots we’ve engaged want to bring this technology into their landing procedures. Subjective pilot assessments – essentially, “I think the braking friction was good, poor, nil” – are helpful but they are imprecise, based on each pilot’s personal interpretation.
If there’s a science that can eliminate this variance and automatically provide hard data that is objective and standardized – what pilot wouldn’t want that?
And as a passenger, wouldn’t you want your pilots to have the benefit of the best information available, especially when landing your plane on a contaminated runway?
Q: How prevalent are runway excursions?
Joe: Between 2013 and 2022, nearly 25% of commercial aviation accidents were from runway excursions. According to one estimate, these excursions cost the global industry $4 billion in 2019 alone. Human injuries, aircraft hull losses, disruptions to airport operations, lost revenue, lost customer goodwill, lost reputation for both airlines and airports – the impacts are staggering. The FAA and NTSB estimate that 10 excursions occur every year just in the U.S. alone.
Q: And the role of Aviation Safety Technologies in helping avoid these impacts?
Joe: We are part of a growing consortium of airlines, airports, and regulatory bodies who recognize the value of science in how runway conditions and braking effectiveness are measured. More and more airlines and airports are joining the ABARnet™ – our global reporting network that delivers a real-time ABAR every time a participating aircraft lands. The FAA and other regulatory bodies are only going to get more serious about this.
Q: Please define “network.”
Joe: Our cloud-based braking measurement, reporting, and distribution network makes ABARs instantly available to all participating airlines and airports across all operating regions, so everyone who joins the ABARnet™ consortium has access to any and all reports they may need.
These real-time, aircraft-agnostic reports flow daily through the network, about 7,000 new reports a day right now.
This gives pilots, airlines, and airports real-time access to objective, accurate, and reliable braking reports anywhere a participating aircraft has landed – whether it’s a Boeing, Airbus, or other commercial aircraft type.
Joe: The evolution of aviation safety will never stop, it’s what makes our industry great.
One day, reports like ABARs may be mandated as a must-have component in standard operating procedures for both airlines and airports. The on-board braking data is there and ABARs are a proven, accurate way to access, analyze, and distribute it.
