Air Canada Pilots Call for Safety Enhancements at Pearson Airport Following Release of TSB Report on Air France Crash

Investment in technology can provide safety net for airport's shortest runway

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 12, 2007) - The Air Canada pilots say that there is a technological solution that may prevent another aircraft from over-running Pearson's shortest runway like the Air France aircraft did in August 2005.

"An Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) could prevent future aircraft over-runs which put the lives of passengers and crew at risk," says Air Canada Pilots Association President Capt. Andy Wilson. "We are thankful that no lives were lost, but we need to learn from this accident and act to prevent similar incidents in the future."

EMAS is a bed of lightweight, crushable concrete built at the end of a runway to stop an overrun aircraft with no human injury and minimal aircraft damage. The aircraft is slowed by the loss of energy required to crush the concrete blocks. A typical installation costs between $2-million and $5-million US, depending on how large an aircraft it is designed to stop.

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