Reducing the potential for runway incursions at Los Angeles International airport (LAX) is the principal aim of an airport safety assessment study that NASA Ames Research Center is looking to contract out.
The problem NASA wants to address was identified some years ago by Los Angeles World Airports Authority (LAWA), the agency that manages LAX. According to a LAWA-commissioned study by the International Aviation Management Group Analysis of LAX North Airfield Alternatives, the consultants identified that LAX "has, in recent history, ranked among the highest of the nation's commercial service airports in runway incursions, leading the nation in incursions from 2000 through 2003".
NASA has now issued a request for quotations for an assessment of the potential effects on safety and efficiency of proposed changes to LAX's North Airfield configuration, as well as recommendations for other action. "This study will thoroughly examine the proposals for runway configuration change and identify credible, significant benefits that may be realised by completion," says NASA.
The North Airfield now consists of runways 24L/06R and 24R/06L, which are 3,136m (10,285ft) and 2,740m long, respectively. The configuration was completed in the 1970s when it was designed to accommodate aircraft such as the Boeing 727, 737, McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and DC-10, which were the dominating fleet, notes the Bethesda, Maryland-based Washington Consulting Group. Today's fleet mix at LAX, however, consists of types like the 747, 767, Airbus 340 and eventually the 787 "that generate significant air traffic complexities not originally considered in the North Airfield design", adds the consultancy.
The report now being requested by NASA Ames must be based on historical runway safety data, traffic demand forecasts and available technology. It must "identify the underlying causes of runway incursions and assess the severity of the problem, considering future traffic requirements and configuration options".
This requires a review of Aviation Safety Reporting System reports and other sources of runway incursion data for the past 20 years, considering only major incidents further back than 10 years, notes NASA. Bidders must also "consider the likelihood of reducing the potential for runway incursions and improving operational efficiency" by using equipment like runway status lights and ASDE-X [Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X]".
Source: Flight International
