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Crushable Runway Technology Saved Mike Pence's Plane (cnn.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tech-saving-life dept.

Mike Pence, Donald Trump's running mate said Friday he is "fine" following his plane skidding off the runway at LaGuardia Airport on Thursday night, adding there were about 10 seconds of "uncertainty." The Indiana governor said, "It was about 10 seconds of uncertainty last night, but we're just so grateful to the pilots and to the first responders on the scene and (that) everybody came off the plane safely." From a CNN report: The press pool in the back of the aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 chartered from Eastern Airlines that was painted with the campaign's logo, could also feel the plane fishtailing as it touched down and slid off the runway before coming to a very sharp halt in the grass off the side of the runway. Once the plane came to a full stop, the Indiana governor walked to the back of the plane to check on the press. As everyone on board deplaned, Pence could be seen speaking with emergency responders. Donald Trump said, I just spoke to our future vice president, and he's OK. Do you know he was in a big accident with the plane?" A report on Business Insider explains how "crushable runway technology" saved Pence's plane: The positive resolution to a potentially disastrous event can be attributed to the Engineered Material Arresting System located at the end of the runway. The system is designed to prevent a runaway airplane from careening into the roads, buildings, and bodies of water commonly found near many airports. EMAS is made up of massive blocks of material designed to collapse as the wheels of an airplane roll over it, sinking the plane into the runway and bringing it to a safe and gradual stop. The system is designed to be able to stop aircraft traveling at speeds up to 80 mph. The Federal Aviation Administration began studying the technology in the early 1990s in conjunction with the University of Dayton, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the company Zodiac Arresting Systems in New Jersey. According to the FAA, more than 60 US airports -- including JFK and LaGuardia in New York and O'Hare in Chicago -- have installed the technology.

56 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Indiana, the state. not Indian, the protest. by swschrad · · Score: 2, Funny

    compiler failure, unknown variable. pick up your cards and fix it.

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
  2. The Indian governor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    seriously you're doing it intentionally now
    this is next level suck

  3. Well by The-Ixian · · Score: 4, Funny

    Crushable Runway Technology Saved Mike Pence's Plane

    I was really worried that Mike Pence's plane might have been damaged....

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    1. Re:Well by c · · Score: 2

      Crushable Runway Technology Saved Mike Pence's Plane

      I was really worried that Mike Pence's plane might have been damaged....

      I expect more people are more worried about the plane than about Mike Pence.

      --
      Log in or piss off.
    2. Re:Well by mlw4428 · · Score: 1

      Well, I mean, planes are hard to replace.

    3. Re:Well by mobby_6kl · · Score: 1

      It was a very lucky day for the plane

    4. Re:Well by Nethead · · Score: 1

      I'm conflicted. I work for Zodiac but voting for Clinton.

      --
      -- I have a private email server in my basement.
  4. I'm glad he's OK by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

    I'm glad Pence isOK, otherwise I'm sure Trump would have declared himself his own running mate and Vice President. I don't think I could have handled a Trump-Trump 2016 ticket.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    1. Re:I'm glad he's OK by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      would of helped if there is an Electoral College Tie

    2. Re:I'm glad he's OK by zerocommazero · · Score: 2

      Trump-Palin

    3. Re:I'm glad he's OK by rickyslashdot · · Score: 1

      REALLY ! ! ! - Imagine if Trump got to select a 'compatible' running-mate. At least Pence is someone that could deal with the mess leftover from Trump when someone 'takes him out' - tongue-in-cheek.

      SORRY Secret Service / Big Brother - - - just speaking my mind. NOT advocating wiping out a sitting president (or candidate), but the US political system has dropped from a 'pretty boy / girl' running candidate to - not even the least of 2 evils - but only worth voting for "NONE OF THE ABOVE".

      --
      redneck geek
  5. Re:Indiana, the state. not Indian, the protest. by Qzukk · · Score: 2

    Unnumbered cards have been sorted by weight.

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  6. Another boondoggle by ghoul · · Score: 1

    Why can they use a sand pit instead of a multi million dollar proprietary technology ? An equivalent area of sand would work just as well and would not need expensive renewal every time a plane does overrrun.

    --
    **Life is too short to be serious**
    1. Re:Another boondoggle by gachunt · · Score: 1

      I thought the same thing about having a large gravel bed.

      But then realized that the blast/wash from the jet engines would erode it a bit when each plane takes off.

    2. Re:Another boondoggle by whodunit · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, sand wouldn't work just as well. Commercial aircraft are big and heavy enough that their tires would just compress the sand underneath it, accomplishing little. Plus, the purpose-built technology is probably designed to do minimal damage to the aircraft as well, which is a significant benefit.

    3. Re: Another boondoggle by CheeseTroll · · Score: 2

      Sand and gravel will freeze solid in winter months.

      --
      A post a day keeps productivity at bay.
    4. Re:Another boondoggle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Basic physics. Do you want to destroy every plane that runs over the runway and still possibly injure or kill people, go for it. If you want to save the plane and lives, you need something like this.

    5. Re:Another boondoggle by bws111 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For one thing, you don't want to have the plane end up in a big pile of sand. People need to get off (and away from) the plane. Not easy to do if they have to walk/run through sand. Emergency vehicles need to get to the plane. Are you going to have fire engines and ambulances driving through sand?

      They need to be able to keep the thing clear of snow and ice. Going to drive a runway snowplow through sand?

      There is a requirement that the arresting action is predictable. A pile of dry sand is going to act much different than a pile that has been rained on for a week. A pile is frozen sand is going to be practically worthless.

      I bet the engineers at these evil proprietary companies (and their pawns at the FAA) could figure this stuff out.

    6. Re:Another boondoggle by Richard_at_work · · Score: 2

      The material is designed to exhibit a specific rate of retardation on an aircraft regardless of the weather conditions - sand changes its properties depending on stuff like water retention etc, meaning an aircraft of a specific given weight would have a range of stopping distances, and that is what you want to avoid. You dont want a rate that is too high, as that may damage the aircraft or its passengers, and you don't want a rate that is too low, as the aircraft may escape the zone and cause death or injury.

      That is why they don't use sand, but use a material designed for it. Its *designed* for it.

    7. Re:Another boondoggle by Pascoea · · Score: 2

      Why can(sic) they use a sand pit instead...An equivalent area of sand would work just as well...

      Damn, I doubt anybody even considered that as on option, or tested it and proved if it worked not. Too bad you weren't on the project, you could have saved us millions!

    8. Re:Another boondoggle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The material is designed to exhibit a specific rate of retardation on an aircraft regardless of the weather conditions

      as opposed to the variable rate of retardation exhibited at the top of both tickets regardless of weather conditions

    9. Re: Another boondoggle by adolf · · Score: 1

      Because sand/gravel plus water plus cold equals, essentially, permafrost.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
    10. Re:Another boondoggle by tlhIngan · · Score: 3, Informative

      Why can they use a sand pit instead of a multi million dollar proprietary technology ? An equivalent area of sand would work just as well and would not need expensive renewal every time a plane does overrrun.

      The only proprietary part of the technology is how the material is made.

      The material itself is basically foamed concrete. When something light is on it like a vehicle or a person, it's like normal concrete - a hard surface that can be driven on quite easily. Something heavier like a plane causes the concrete to collapse, which arrests the plane in an orderly manner. And for emergency vehicles rushing to the scene, they can still drive on it.

      The FAA and many other agencies around the world have spent decades finding overrun surfaces that try to arrest a speeding plane and slow it down safely. Foamed concrete has proven to be the best material of the lot, and the processes used to make it are proprietary to the company making it. (There are multiple companies who do this.)

      You are, of course, free to invent your own way to make this material and to then release it to the world, open-source style

    11. Re:Another boondoggle by jbwolfe · · Score: 1

      Operative word here is "engineered": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_materials_arrestor_system It works better because it was given enough thought during the evolutionary process.

      --
      Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
    12. Re:Another boondoggle by sunking2 · · Score: 1

      Because then you'd have to rip apart and rebuild the engines to get all the sand/gravel out that's been sucked through them. When I first saw it the first thing to come to my mind was, wow, they're using paper mache. Then reading further they talk about 'cellulose cement' or something like that. Which again, sounds like paper mache. I don't think its super expensive compared to an engine overhaul.

    13. Re:Another boondoggle by LoneTech · · Score: 1

      You are, of course, free to invent your own way to make this material and to then release it to the world, open-source style

      At which point the airports are, in turn, not able to use it because they're commercial use and the techniques you just (re-)invented are freshly patented (close enough to sue, anyway). Or at least it's expensive to ask a lawyer if they might be, and just in case, there are probably lobbyists ensuring that the insurance companies demand a solution from a specific whitelist of brands. And those, in turn, are why the solutions stay expensive. Oh, by the way, the purpose of the patent system is to release the methods to the world, so feel free to start digging; I'm sure you can find one or two that are expired, unobfuscated, and applicable.. the US patent office alone has only 1994 patents filed on "concrete and collapsible".

    14. Re:Another boondoggle by idji · · Score: 1

      You can't paint the sand, and the wind could blow it away, or worse, onto the runway. Sand is not an option. Wet sand dry sand wet frozen sand.

  7. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by cdrudge · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Mike Pence was on the plane. It was Mike Pence's plane. It was also his journalist pool's plane. And the pilots' plane. And Eastern Airlines Group, Inc's plane.

    Showing possession doesn't necessarily mean having ownership.

  8. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It says even in the summary that it isn't "Mike Pence's Plane" - it appears to be Eastern Airlines plane....

    Come by my apartment, and I'll explain it to you. Oh, wait... I mean, come by my landlord's apartment, which I've leased as my domicile.

  9. Re:Indiana, the state. not Indian, the protest. by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    If you're any good, it doesn't matter what order the cards are in.
    Mere humans draw a diagonal stripe across the top edge of the deck with a permanent marker.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  10. "For every new regulation, take away 2.." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So let's start with taking away that FAA regulation, Gov. "No Regulations" Pence.

  11. Eastern Airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Didn't know they were still around... Who's running it? Rickenbacker or Borman?

  12. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The fact this has to be explained...

  13. In related news ... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    Crushable Runway Technology

    ... it was made of their campaign's hopes and dreams. :-)

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  14. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    It says even in the summary that it isn't "Mike Pence's Plane" - it appears to be Eastern Airlines plane....

    I was about to ask, "What? Eastern went out of business long ago.". Didn't know someone had bought up the branding and started a new airline with it to confuse people.

  15. Re:Wow, thats some advanced 80s/90s tech there by jo7hs2 · · Score: 1

    That it has been widely installed is the "new thing."

  16. I haven't seen a picture but... by jo7hs2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I hadn't seen a picture from overhead yet, but I wondered how did the plane end up at the *side* of the runway if EMAS stopped the plane? It appears it slid THROUGH the EMAS somewhat diagonally and came to a rest at the side of the runway's end. http://a.abcnews.com/images/US...

    1. Re:I haven't seen a picture but... by MarkRose · · Score: 1

      Heavy rain made for poor braking effectiveness and fishtailing.

      --
      Be relentless!
  17. The overly cautious FAA is sorta smart sometimes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    They studies many things including sand; they have better experts than you.

    The crushable material is designed to gradually slow the aircraft while doing as little damage as possible, and to do this you want a strong solid base under it that will keep the massive aircraft from sinking below runway level. A wide range of aircraft of wildly varying unloaded and loaded weights and rolling at a wide range of speeds and with different landing gear configurations would respond differently to a golf course style sand trap. The sand you propose might arrest one unloaded narrowbody aircraft on an overrun landing just fine and might result in a fireball and many "screaming alphas" on an aborted takeoff of another.

    I'm a big critic of the FAA on safety - they are so fossilized and overly cautious on new things that I am convinced they have indirectly contributed to many deaths by being an impediment to things that would have saved lives. In this instance, however, I was aware of this solution as it was being developed and they were right to prefer this solution, it's the best option both for how it works and the cost to deploy it and its ability to sit there in all weather for years and then just work. Sand, left over time in varying weather can become packed quite solid like sandstone, or become soupy, or bound with ice, or sticky or become wind-blown...

  18. Overwhelmed ... by BenBoy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Overwhelmed by the design of everyday things. Engineering marvels everywhere, everyone enriched thereby.
    What are the odds that this is the only politically neutral post in this thread?

    1. Re:Overwhelmed ... by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      What are the odds that this is the only politically neutral post in this thread?

      You blew it, though.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Overwhelmed ... by ThatsMyNick · · Score: 1

      There are many discussing the crushable runway tech (which I dont think politically oriented). So the odds of your post being the only neutral one is really bad.

    3. Re:Overwhelmed ... by BenBoy · · Score: 1

      The odds, as I discovered to my delight later, were really poor. There was lots of good, informative discussion about the tech (like why a sand-pit was a bad alternative, for example). Thank you, Slashdot-ers!

  19. Tim Kaine by almeida · · Score: 1

    Donald Trump said, I just spoke to our future vice president, and he's OK. Do you know he was in a big accident with the plane?"

    So Tim Kaine was involved too?

  20. Seems a little heavy-handed... by TheSouthernDandy · · Score: 1

    I know we're short on good metaphors for a Trump presidency, but this seems a little over the top.

  21. Well then...... by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    Well then I say, fuck crushable runways. We could have had some awesome last-minute election drama, but nooooooooooo, some goddamn crushable runway saves the day.

    Thanks a lot, crushable runways, whatever the fuck you are.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  22. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by slew · · Score: 1

    It says even in the summary that it isn't "Mike Pence's Plane" - it appears to be Eastern Airlines plane....

    I was about to ask, "What? Eastern went out of business long ago.". Didn't know someone had bought up the branding and started a new airline with it to confuse people.

    Bit of trivia, the original Eastern Airlines sold their east coast shuttle service to some NY real-estate developer who renamed it after himself...

  23. solar? by spongman · · Score: 1

    "Crushable Freaking Runways!"

  24. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by slew · · Score: 1

    Eastern Airlines? What a perfect metaphor for the Trump campaign: a relic of the 1980s, known primarily for going bankrupt.

    Bernie Sanders was the first presidential candidate to charter a flight on Eastern (from DesMoines IA to Manchester NH during the primary).

    At the time, some felt it was appropriate metaphor for someone like Bernie (who usually flies coach on scheduled airlines), to charter a flight from an airline that made its inaugural flight from Miami to socialist/communist Havana and back...

  25. Kudos by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Somebody actually planned ahead AND designed something that worked AND implemented it properly.

    All 3 of these happening is rare, KUDOS to those involved!

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  26. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    Bit of trivia, the original Eastern Airlines sold their east coast shuttle service to some NY real-estate developer who renamed it after himself...

    +1, On-topic/Off-topic

  27. Re:Doesn't even the moderators read the articles? by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

    The current Eastern Air Lines has no connection with the earlier company other than the name and logo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  28. Re:Indiana, the state. not Indian, the protest. by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1

    Waste of ink. I draw a line front to back, perpendicular to the length of the deck.

  29. Re:Trumps anti establishment speech by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1

    That was horrifying.

  30. Crushable Runway Technology by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

    So.. gravel?

  31. Re:Cue the alt-right... by Coren22 · · Score: 1

    Does it make you feel better to have a group to demonize?

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?