Runway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users’ Guide (2016)

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C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research reported herein was performed under ACRP Project 04-18 by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), Ricondo & Associates (R&A), Mead & Hunt, Dr. Ali Mosleh (of UCLA), and Landry Consultants. ARA was the prime contractor for this study. Dr. Jim Hall, P.E., Principal Engineer at ARA, was the Principal Investigator and Mr. Hamid Shirazi, P.E., Principal Engineer at ARA, was the Project Manager. The research team included Ms. Beattie Williams, Mr. Stephen Moser, and Ms. Dorothy Boswell of ARA. Mr. Mark Johnson, Ms. Colleen Quinn, Mr. Patrick Hickman, and Mr. David Ramacorti of R&A; Mr. Marshall Hardy, Mr. Rich Speir, Mr. Endri Mustafa, and Ms. Robin Jones of ARA; Ms. Stephanie Ward and Ms. Morgan Turner of Mead & Hunt; Ms. Joanne Landry; and Dr. Ali Mosleh collaborated in develop- ing this research and the project report and the users’ guide. CRP STAFF FOR ACRP RESEARCH REPORT 168 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Michael R. Salamone, ACRP Manager Marci A. Greenberger, Senior Program Officer Jeffrey Oser, Program Coordinator Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Hilary Freer, Senior Editor ACRP PROJECT 04-18 PANEL Field of Safety David Bannard, Foley & Lardner LLP, Boston, MA (Chair) Paul Esposito, STAR Consultants, Inc., Arnold, MD Jennifer M. Fuller, North Carolina DOT, Raleigh, NC Dawn Mehler, Plantation, FL Roger Studenski, Jacksonville Aviation Authority, Jacksonville, FL Steve Debban, FAA Liaison Jorge E. Panteli, FAA Liaison Richard Marchi, RFMarchi Aviation Consulting, Inc. Liaison Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Although runway protection zones (RPZs) are supposed to be clear of structures and people, it is still common for activities to occur within an RPZ for many reasons, and these reasons can be beyond the control of the airport operator. This Users’ Guide (ACRP Research Report 168) and risk assessment tool have been developed under ACRP Project 04-18 to help airport operators conduct risk assessments in RPZs. The tool can be used to assess the risk of an aircraft accident within an RPZ and, based on the output, assess the risk to people and property, based on land use and population density. The tool (as well as a PDF version of the Users’ Guide), which will be beneficial to airport planners and operations, can be found at http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/174951.aspx. The FAA has identified critical safety areas that airport operators need to maintain to spe- cific standards so as to protect aircraft, passengers, people, and property. The runway safety area (RSA) is designed to protect aircraft using the runway, while the runway protection zone (RPZ) is designed to enhance the protection of people and property on the ground. Airport operators need to understand the risks of activities that occur within RPZs so that mitigation strategies can be developed. Applied Research Associates (ARA), as part of ACRP Project 04-18, was selected to develop a tool to assess the risk of an aircraft accident within the RPZ, and, based on that output, assess the risk to people and property, considering the population density and land use. The tool relies on a wealth of airport-specific data to assess the risk. When information is not available, the tool makes it possible to obtain estimates using simplifying assump- tions. This Users’ Guide also provides direction on where information can be obtained so as to make the tool immediately useful. The tool can be used to run scenarios for planning around an RPZ or if changes are being considered (e.g., a change in the threshold, extending a runway, removing a hazard, and planning for a new runway). Ideally, the Users’ Guide should be read before starting to use the tool. For background on the development of the tool, see the Contractor’s Final Report on the TRB website (www.trb.org/acrp). F O R E W O R D By Marci A. Greenberger Staff Officer Transportation Research Board þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 2 1.2 Objective 3 1.3 How to Use This Guidebook 4 1.4 Definitions 6 Chapter 2 Risk Assessment and Safety Risk Management (SRM) 6 2.1 SRM Concepts 7 2.2 Applying SRM 10 2.3 Acceptable Level of Risk 12 Chapter 3 Gathering Software Tool Input Data 12 3.1 Airport Data 13 3.2 Airport Movements; Normal Operation Data (NOD) File 15 3.3 Weather Data Input File 18 3.4 Land Use and Population Data 21 Chapter 4 Getting Started with RPZ_RAT 21 4.1 Installing the Software Tool 21 4.2 Operating the Software Tool 23 4.3 Entering Runway Data 26 4.4 Generating RPZ Crash Likelihood Contours 27 4.5 Entering Land Uses and Conducting Risk Analysis 29 4.6 Useful Software Tool Features 32 Chapter 5 Understanding Analysis Results 32 5.1 Crash Likelihood Contours 32 5.2 Excel Output File 37 Chapter 6 Case Study Airport 37 6.1 Case Study Purpose 37 6.2 Case Study Airport Description 39 6.3 Preparing Input Files for RPZ_RAT 43 6.4 Existing Land Uses within RPZs 48 6.5 Interpretation of RPZ_RAT Results 55 6.6 Potential Benefits of Analysis Findings 56 Chapter 7 RPZ Risk Mitigation Strategies 56 7.1 Securing Control of the RPZ 58 7.2 Management of RPZ upon Securing Control 58 7.3 Factors Influencing Mitigation Measure Selection 61 Chapter 8 Airport Safety Management System (SMS) and RPZ Risk 64 References 65 Appendix A Uniform Building Code C O N T E N T S þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

1 Introduction 1.1 Background In FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5300-13A, “Airport Design,” the FAA advised that land uses within a runway protection zone (RPZ) should be restricted to protect people and prop- erty on the ground. Ideally, the RPZ should be free of objects and activities involving the pres- ence of people. However, some land uses are considered permissible, including certain farming activities, irrigation channels, airport service roads closed to the public, underground facilities that otherwise meet runway safety area (RSA) requirements, and unstaffed navigational aids (AC 150/5300-13A, 2012). In 2012, the FAA released interim guidance on how to deal with new or modified land uses in the RPZ (FAA Memorandum, 2012). According to the interim guidance, the FAA’s Regional Office and Airports District Office personnel are required to consult with the National Airport Planning and Environmental Division, APP-400, whenever an airport project, local develop- ment project, or change in RPZ dimensions would result in buildings and structures or specific land uses being located within the RPZ, including changes in the following: • Recreational uses • Transportation facilities, including parking lots • Fuel storage facilities • Hazardous materials storage • Aboveground utilities The interim guidance also requires Regional Office and Airports District Office staff to work with the airport sponsor to identify and document alternatives to the proposed action to avoid encroachment into the RPZ, minimize the effect on the RPZ, and/or mitigate risks to people or property within the RPZ (FAA Memorandum, 2012). Many airports across the United States have existing development within their RPZs. In many instances, these uses have been in the RPZs for years with no quantitative way to evaluate their effects on the airport or the land use. Many of these land uses have occurred on properties that are not airport-owned. Traditionally, there has been little research conducted or guidance pro- vided to help an airport, developer, or local municipality assess what the effects of development may be, relative to location within the RPZ. This highlights the need for tools and methods to help assess the risks associated with existing RPZs. As prescribed in the advisory circular, the configuration of an RPZ for any given runway end is dependent on the approach speed and wingspan of the most demanding aircraft type(s), as well as the lowest visibility minimums prescribed for the runway. Airfield design standards are dictated by the critical aircraft from the traffic mix that operate at the airport. These standards can vary among airports, as well as for each runway at a single airport. Given the diverse range C H A P T E R 1 þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

2 Runway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users’ Guide of airfield design standards that may be prescribed, each runway is assigned a runway reference code (RRC), which establishes the appropriate set of design standards for that runway. The RRC is an alphanumeric designation corresponding to the most demanding aircraft approach speed and greatest wingspan. In essence, the RRC designation reflects the aircraft approach category (AAC) and airplane design group (ADG) prescribed for the most demanding aircraft type(s) that regularly use the runway. For each runway end, the FAA prescribes both an arrival and a departure RPZ. The configura- tion and location of the arrival and departure RPZs assigned to each runway may vary, particularly if the runways are constrained and declared distances are imposed. Declared distances can reduce departure and landing distances, thereby limiting what aircraft can operate on a given runway. Figure 1.1 summarizes the FAA RPZ configuration standards. The parameters that determine the RPZ dimensions are the RRC and lowest visibility minimums prescribed for each runway end. RPZs are shaped like isosceles trapezoids and are symmetrical around the extended runway centerline. The first dimension presented is the length of the RPZ in feet, followed by the dimen- sions of the bases. The smaller base is 200 feet from the runway end. Five potential approach RPZ configurations and three departure RPZ configurations are prescribed in AC 150/5300-13A. 1.2 Objective This guide is designed to help airport sponsors and airport planners conduct risk assessments for RPZs using a software tool developed for this purpose—the RPZ Risk Assessment Tool (RPZ_RAT)—which is available for download from the TRB website. The guide, intended to be simple and easy to follow, provides background information on risk concepts and analysis, guid- ance on using the tool and understanding the results, and advice on considering risk mitigation strategies to reduce potential safety risks. The tool is intended to help airport sponsors (1) identify areas within RPZs that have the high- est likelihood of an accident, (2) assess the risk of existing land uses within the RPZs as well as planned land uses that may encroach on the RPZs, and (3) rank existing land uses within RPZs according to the degree of risk to the people on the ground (allowing for the prioritization of land uses for risk mitigation treatments). The tool is flexible and allows users to assess current conditions and analyze the risk of various hypothetical or planned conditions (e.g., adding a new Runway Reference Code (RRC) Visual Not Lower than 1 Mile Not Lower than 3/4 Mile Lower than 3/4 Mile Departure RPZ A-I / B-I (Small) A-II / B-II (Small) A-I / B-I A-II / B-II A-III/B-III A-IV/B-IV C-I/D-I/E-I C-II/D-II/E-II C-III/D-III/E-III C-IV/D-IV/E-IV C-V/D-V/E-V C-VI/D-VI/E-VI Approach RPZ Configuraon / Visibility Minimums 1000 x 500 x 700 2500 x 1000 1750 1000 x 250 x 450 1700 x 500 x 1010 1000 x 250 x 450 1000 x 500 x 700 1700 x 500 x 1010 1700 x 1000 x 1510 Figure 1.1. Approach and departure RPZ dimensions. þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Introduction 3 runway, displacing the thresholds, or operating a new mix of aircraft types). Users can gauge the effect on risk when a new roadway is planned to cross an RPZ or when other land uses are proposed for development within the RPZ. Also, users can analyze the risk for average operating conditions or assess the risk for the worst case operating conditions. The goal was to develop a tool that is easy to use and does not require users to be subject mat- ter experts in risk analysis or mathematical modeling. Although the tool is designed to consider significant information about the airport and its surrounding land uses when available, it is flexible and is still useful when only limited data are available. 1.3 How to Use This Guidebook A user must have a basic understanding of the concept of safety risk to conduct the analysis and understand the results. Chapter 2 presents the basic safety risk concept and the steps to conduct a safety risk management (SRM) assessment. Chapter 3 explains the steps necessary to assemble the required inputs to the tool and introduces potential sources for the required data. Chapter 3 also discusses potential options for situations in which data are not available or if only a rough estimate of the safety risk is sought. Chapter 4 presents tips for using the tool and on the various features of the software. The tool generates two sets of outputs—maps and data tables. Chapter 5 provides guidance on interpreting and understanding these output results. Chapter 6 presents a safety risk analysis for a case study airport. Chapter 7 presents typical mitigation strat- egies relevant to many airports. Chapter 8 provides insights for integrating the findings from the RPZ risk analysis with an airport safety management system (SMS). This guidebook is not intended to provide documentation for the modeling approach used in the research. Users or researchers interested in the models incorporated into the software should consult the project report. Each chapter has common elements to help the reader understand important concepts or to highlight specific issues. The following icons are used throughout the report. Example Illustrative example to help in understanding the concept Scalability Depends on the size and complexity of the airport Hint Practical suggestion or useful approach Caution Potential bottlenecks and practical ways to overcome them Key Important point for consideration, sometimes in the form of a citation þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.