THE NEW YORK TIMES – A concrete safety bed stopped a plane that had lost control during a rain-soaked landing in Virginia on Wednesday, in what an airport official said was another example of the runway technology improving aviation safety in the United States.
The plane, CommuteAir Flight 4339, was carrying 50 passengers and three crew members when it skidded off a runway at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport at about 9 p.m., said Alexa Briehl, an airport spokeswoman. No one was hurt.
The plane was attempting to land at the airport’s 5,800-foot secondary runway in heavy rain, said Jason Kadah, a spokesman for CommuteAir. He said it was unclear what caused the plane, which had taken off from Washington Dulles International Airport, to overshoot the runway.
What’s more clear is that the aircraft was stopped by a bed of crushable concrete blocks. The system is designed to stop a runaway plane by collapsing under its weight.
“It performed as it should have,” said Ms. Briehl.
The safety bed, known as an Engineered Materials Arresting System, is designed to stop planes moving at 80 miles per hour or less. The Virginia airport’s bed had been upgraded last year, and Wednesday was its first use.
The Engineered Materials Arresting System is in place on at least 120 runways at about 70 airports in the United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration …
