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> case for integrated "help": Why don't they just paint the
> words "SHORT
> RUNWAY" every few hundred feet on the short runways designed for
> general-aviation only? Kind of like they paint "FIRE LANE" on city
The tricky thing is that "short runway" is relative, and the definition of a
"too short" runway depends on the aircraft, the specific fuel and passenger
load, the "density altitude" (a combination of elevation above sea level,
temperature and barometric pressure), and a variety of other factors. The
runway at one airport near me is about 5,500 feet -- long enough for a CRJ
of the type that crashed in Lexington, but would (obviously) be far too
short for a fully-loaded 747. The runway at the airport in my town is fine
for a Cessna or a small Learjet, but about 1,000 feet too short for a CRJ.
However, I have always wondered why the runway marker signs (numbered signs
positioned at the entrance to the runway) don't list the runway length in
addition to the number. Signs can be misread just like anything else, but it
seems a cheap and easy extra bit of insurance.
The real question about the Comair crash, though, is why the First Officer
flying the airplane didn't notice that the runway number he thought he was
on and the heading showing on his compass didn't match. I suspect that the
outcome of the crash investigation will reinforce what many of us already
know: No matter how good the documentation is, you can't fully bulletproof
any system against human mistakes.
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