We all know the moment: Just as you sense the wheels are about to touch the tarmac, the plane suddenly pulls up and rockets toward the sky. Your stomach flips. You experience a surreal did-that-just-happen moment. Then, at about the same time, it dawns on you and your fellow passengers: aborted landing. There’s some nervous laughter and a few shoulder shrugs before everyone settles back to await an announcement from the captain confirming your suspicions and citing the cause — equipment on the runway, another plane coming in too close. It happens, but it’s still unsettling.

Over the past 15 years, the FAA has made significant progress in improving runway safety at U.S. airports by working with other members of the aviation community on education, training, marking and lighting, standard runway safety areas, new technology and airfield improvements.

The FAA plans to build on that success by working with airport sponsors over the next 10–15 years to further reduce runway risks through risk-based decision-making. A new FAA national initiative known as the Runway Incursion Mitigation program will identify airport risk factors that might contribute to a runway incursion and develop strategies to help airport sponsors mitigate those risks.

Runway incursions occur when an aircraft, vehicle, or person enters the protected area of an airport designated for aircraft landings and take offs. Risk factors that contribute to runway incursions may include unclear taxiway markings, airport signage, and more complex issues such as the runway or taxiway layout. Through RIM, the FAA will focus on reducing runway incursions by addressing risks at specific locations at the airport that have a history of runway incursions.

Risk-based decision-making builds on safety management principles by using a consistent approach to proactively address emerging safety risks. The FAA already has collected and reviewed data to identify specific airport areas with risk factors that could contribute to a runway incursion. The FAA has developed a preliminary inventory of airport locations where runway incursions have occurred. The FAA will work with the airport sponsors to develop strategies to mitigate runway incursions at these locations.