Background

The EUROCONTROL “Study of Runway Excursions from a European Perspective” showed that the causal and contributory factors leading to a runway excursion were the same in Europe as in other regions of the world. The study findings made extensive use of lessons from more than a thousand accident and incident reports. Those lessons have been used to craft the recommendations contained in the European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions, Edition 1.0 of which was published in January 2013.

The European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions (EAPPRE) contains practical recommendations with guidance materials to assist operational staff with their implementation. According to ICAO, runway excursions are a persistent problem and their numbers have not decreased in more than 20 years.

The European Working Group for Runway Safety who developed the EAPPRE considered all practicable means available ranging from the design of aircraft, airspace, procedures and technologies to relevant training for operational staff associated with runway excursion prevention. The recommendations and guidance materials contained in the Action Plan are intended for implementation by the relevant stakeholder organisations with the aim of reducing the rate of runway excursions and the runway excursion risk incumbent upon them.

This European Action Plan, directed to all providers and users of European aerodromes and all European aircraft operators, is the result of the combined and sustained efforts of organisations involved in all areas of runway operations and has been co-developed with European Commercial Aviation Safety Team. The EAPPRE is a deliverable of the European Aviation Safety Plan, Edition 2011-2014.

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Document Structure

The EAPPRE is structured in two main parts:

• Recommendations in Section 3;
  • 3.1 General Principles and Local Runway Safety Teams;
  • 3.2 Aerodrome Operator;
  • 3.3 Air Navigation Service Provider;
  • 3.4 Aircraft Operator;
  • 3.5 Aircraft Manufacturers;
  • 3.6 Regulatory and Oversight Issues;
  • 3.7 EASA

• Guidance Materials in a series of Annexes:
  • Appendix A - Guidelines for Local Runway Safety Teams
  • Appendix B - Aerodrome Operator
  • Appendix C - Air Navigation Service Providers
  • Appendix D - Aeronautical Information Service Providers
  • Appendix E - Aircraft Operators
  • Appendix F - Aircraft Manufacturers
  • Appendix G Oversight activities for Regulators
  • Appendix H - EASA

The guidance found in this Action Plan should not be seen to be limiting, and good practice should be shared as appropriate. The Guidance Materials will be continually updated and made available through the safety knowledge management process of SKYbrary. The boundaries set by national regulators and internationally accepted provisions should be respected.

Related Articles

• Runway Excursion
• Local Runway Safety Teams (LRST)
• Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions (GAPPRE)

Further Reading

• ICAO Runway Safety Team Handbook, First Edition, January 2014
• ICAO Runway Excursion Risk Reduction Toolkit - Aerodrome Best Practice (2nd edition)
• Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions, EUROCONTROL/Flight Safety Foundation, 5 May 2021.