Opinion 04/2019

‘Reduction of runway excursions' and 'Class-D compartments’

The objective of this Opinion is to reduce:

  • the number of longitudinal runway excursions of large aeroplanes during landing; and
  • the risk of uncontrollable fires in the Class D compartments of large aeroplanes.

This Opinion proposes to require:

  • every large aeroplane operated in commercial air transport (CAT), and manufactured after a certain date, to be equipped with a runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROAAS). This system shall support the flight crew during the landing phase in identifying and managing the risk of a runway excursion; and
  • operators, whose in-service large aeroplanes used for CAT contain Class D cargo or baggage compartments, to apply to those aircraft the standards applicable to:
    • Class C compartments, if the aeroplanes are involved in the transport of passengers; or
    • either Class C or Class E compartments, if the aeroplanes are only involved in all-cargo operations.

The proposed changes are expected to:

  • increase the level of safety by reducing the number of accidents and incidents during landing for large aeroplanes operated in CAT; and
  • increase safety by mitigating the risk of uncontrollable fires in Class D cargo or baggage compartments; and 
  • improve harmonisation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).