NBAA Unveils New Guide and Free Webinar on Reducing Runway Excursions

To help enhance safety in business aircraft operations, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has produced a new publication entitled, “Reducing Runway Excursions in Business Aviation: A high-level guide on mitigating the risks.” The 25-page document examines many of the psychological and physical factors that cause excursions on takeoffs and landings and explains how to address them in training programs and safety management systems.

Runway excursions are the leading cause of accidents in business aviation. According to the Flight Safety Foundation, business jet operations experienced 79 runway excursions from 2017 to 2022, accounting for nearly 41% of business jet accidents during that period. Six of the excursions were fatal, resulting in 18 total deaths.

“The Runway Excursion Guide is intended to raise awareness about a significant challenge facing the business aviation industry,” said Noah Yarborough, NBAA manager of flight operations. “Written in plain English, the document contains a series of practical steps that flight crews and operators can take to improve airport safety in a proactive manner. The guide is also designed to be a reference for a number of factors to consider, along with links to more in-depth reading from industry resources that have spent considerable time studying the causes of, and possible solutions, to runway excursions.”

In addition to causing tragic loss of life, runway excursions substantially damage or destroy airplanes, lead to costly litigation and harm the reputation of operators and pilots. They also have fueled significant increases in insurance premiums for the aviation sector in recent years.

“As a sector of professional aviation, business aviation operators can and must make a concerted effort to reverse this trend of runway excursions,” the guide says.

To further call attention to the need to elevate runway safety, the association is hosting a free NBAA News Hour webinar titled, “Elevating Runway and Surface Safety in Business Aviation,” at 1 p.m. (ET), Tuesday, Nov. 28. Experts from NBAA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will take part in the event, which will offer perspectives on how to bring the best runway and surface safety practices to the flight deck.

Register for the free NBAA News Hour webinar.

Besides releasing the guide, which updates a publication originally prepared in 2016, NBAA recently announced it is forming a working group to focus on runway and surface safety. The Runway and Surface Safety Working Group will bring together experts from across NBAA committees and across the industry.

Learn more about NBAA’s new Runway and Surface Safety Working Group.