Engineered Material Arresting Systems for runways
 

Anyone have a lot of knowledge about Engineered Material Arresting Systems like the one at LGA that saved Mike Pence plane? I would like to know more than what I see when I am driving down a hill with a runaway truck sign. Yeah I get the wheels sink in the ground but that is about it. Oh I guess I have Wikipedia but I bet we have members who know a heck of lot more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine...rrestor_system

I'm not sure what you want to know, but my company has worked on a few projects where they have been installed (I'm an electrical engineer for an aviation design firm, not Zodiac/ESCO, but I have had ancillary contact with this aspect of the projects).

In the US, the FAA dictates the size of the required Runway Safety Area (RSA) in Chapter 3 of AC 150/5300-13A (see table 3-5 in particular). Basically, the RSA extends 1,000' past the runway for most larger commercial service runways. There is no "waiver" process for sub-standard runways that don't have the 1,000', but the FAA treats a standard EMAS installation as though you have standard RSA dimensions, making it an appealing option for airports that have the cash (they are multi-million $ installations, with substantial maintenance and repair costs) but not the real estate.

EMAS is essentially just a few thousand cellular crushable concrete blocks that increase in depth along the run. As an airplane (or as some places have found out in expensive "oops"es over the years -- a heavy vehicle) runs over it, it crushes under the weight, providing remarkably quick deceleration with minimal aircraft damage.

http://www.skybrary.aero/images/CRJ2_EMAS_arrest.jpg

See here for some perspective on where that aircraft was headed: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/apps/pb...-150429072.jpg

This isn't really Travel Tech in the sense we usually use the term, so I'm going to move it to TravelBuzz now.