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

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Case Study Airport 53 The fifth table of the summary sheet presents the findings for each land use identified at the airport (see Figure 6.12). The following is identified for every land use: • The RPZ that contains it (If a land use is contained within more than one RPZ, all will be listed) • The population density assigned or calculated for the land use • The size of the land use area in square feet • The annual risk obtained for the land use • The rank of the land use risk with respect to all land uses at the airport As shown in the figure, 31 land uses are analyzed for the airport. The public services buildings in RPZ 6 have the highest population density, followed by the factory buildings in Runway 2 RPZ. The factory motor pool and factory buildings have occupied the largest area inside the RPZ. The factory motor pool area is found to pose the highest risk among the land uses within the airport RPZs and is ranked as such in the table. The northbound and the southbound of Highway Zulu have the lowest risk. Figure 6.13 illustrates the risk of the land uses. Figure 6.12. Land use risks and analysis results from RPZ_RAT output summary sheet. þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Figure 6.13. Airport land use risks from RPZ_RAT output summary sheet. þÿR unw ay P rotection Z ones (R P Z s) R isk A ssessm ent T ool U sers  G uide C opyright N ational A cadem y of S ciences. A ll rights reserved.

Case Study Airport 55 6.6 Potential Benefits of Analysis Findings The ability to quantify the risk to land uses within RPZs while generating a graphic representa- tion of the areas with the highest likelihood of a crash presents an opportunity to bolster airport safety efforts in three key ways. The RPZ_RAT can be a valuable tool for informing the decision- making process as part of the FAA Safety Management System (SMS), in prioritizing RPZ miti- gation relative to other needs at airports, and for enhancing land use compatibility planning. Integration with Airport SMS The FAA’s SMS initiative is a systemic approach to managing safety in the airport operating environment and is intended to support the identification of safety risks. The RPZ_RAT can aid airport management by quantifying the degree of risk in the RPZs. Management can then consider alternative ways to mitigate those risks, considering the costs of mitigation strategies. With an understanding of the degree of risk and the costs and benefits of mitigating risk, airport management is equipped to prioritize the mitigation of RPZ risks with respect to other airport safety enhancement measures. Prioritizing RPZ Mitigation Needs Relative to Other Airport Safety Needs The RPZ_RAT could aid policymakers and planners in prioritizing RPZ mitigation among other competing needs at airports. By quantifying and ranking high-risk land uses in the RPZ and calculating RPZ crash likelihood, the RPZ_RAT can equip decisionmakers with previously unavailable risk data. Airport management can quantify the amount of risk reduction achiev- able for a given expenditure and compare alternative risk reduction measures in the RPZ. This improves the meaningful comparison of the cost and benefits of RPZ risk reduction with the cost and benefits of other airport projects. Support for Land Use Compatibility Planning The RPZ_RAT can be useful for land use compatibility planning if airport sponsors cannot acquire land throughout the RPZ. The tool identifies areas of the RPZ subject to varied degrees of accident likelihood, with the greatest likelihood clustering near the runway end and extended runway centerline. By understanding these patterns, land use planners can consider zoning regulations that would require buildings to be clustered in areas of lower crash likelihood, with open space being reserved in areas of higher crash likelihood. With the ability to quantify the risk to people on the ground, land use planners also would have the information required to justify restrictions on high-intensity land uses with large numbers of occupants. þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.