Description

The Surface Safety Risk Index is a methodology used to assess the severity of risk of runway safety events. The index uses modeling to assign risk weights to the outcome of an event, such as aircraft damage, injuries, and fatalities. Risk weights are based on proximity to a fatality and give credit for saving lives and minimal aircraft damage. 

The index was developed by the U.S Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of its Surface Safety Metric (SSM), which was created to more accurately identify the most significant risks in the runway environment. While previous metrics focused on the number and severity of runway incursions, the SSM incorporates all types of relevant events that occur in the runway environment. The Surface Safety Index is the is the methodology used to assess the severity of those events.

Related Articles

• Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC)
• Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS)
• Approach Runway Verification (ARV)
• Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Incursions (GAPPRI)
• Runway Incursion Device (RID)