EMAS installation at Chicago Executive Airport Provides a Complete Runway Safety Net

LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Dec. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- December 10, 2015, Wheeling, IL – Chicago Executive airport (PWK) recently doubled its level of safety protection to prevent aircraft running off the end of the runway when a second EMAS was installed on November 7. Now, the Engineered Material Arresting System installed by Zodiac Arresting Systems America protects both ends of the airport’s primary runway 16/34.

EMAS prevents overrun catastrophes at airports where Runway Safety Areas (RSA), normally 1,000 feet in length at the end of each runway, don’t exist or are impractical due to environmental or other issues.  ZASA’s EMASMAX^® is a bed of lightweight cellular cement blocks (4 x 4 ft. wide, with varying heights) installed at the end of a runway that predictably crush under an aircraft’s weight to safely stop the aircraft within the airport boundaries.

Chicago Executive’s long runway 16/34 was earlier identified by the FAA as a prime candidate for EMAS because the runway safety area did not meet the agency’s requirements due to nearby highways. The airport, in fact, experienced an overrun in 2003 when a Cessna Citation 560XL, attempting to halt its takeoff roll, ran off the end of the runway into a grassy area, striking eight approach lights, but stopping just short of the highway.

PWK’s Executive Director Jamie Abbott said, “I couldn’t be more pleased at both the expert planning and installation that took place here during the creation of our second EMAS. While I can certainly appreciate the occasional traffic disruptions our tenants experienced during construction, the entire community is now the benefactor of this incredible technology.”

Thanks to efficient planning and execution by ZASA (Zodiac Arresting Systems America) and their project partners, the airport and Bolands Excavating, the first EMAS block was put in place on Nov. 4^th with completion/final inspection taking place on Nov. 7th. The new PWK EMAS bed measures 170 ft. wide x 231 ft. long, utilizing a total of 2,394 EMAS blocks. Installing the blocks and sealing the seams and sides in 4 days (4 work shifts for a total of 42 hours) was indeed an impressive feat.

EMASMAX^® is manufactured by ZASA in Logan Township, NJ. With approximately 110 installations on runways worldwide and 243 lives saved in 9 emergency aircraft overrun saves (in 9 incidents, without injuries or loss of assets) ZASA’s EMAS provides an unmatched level of safety for airport runways when an aircraft overrun occurs.

ZASA developed EMAS in the mid-1990s as part of a CRDA (Cooperative Research & Development Agreement) with the FAA and Port Authority of NY & NJ. No questions remained about the product’s ability to reliably stop an aircraft safely and successfully after real aircraft testing with a Boeing 727 aircraft in May 1996 at the FAA Test Center, Pomona, NJ. Added value and improved quality came with the release of EMASMAX^® in 2007, the 3rd-generation upgrade version of the system, which provided jet blast resistant coating and greatly reduced installation costs and maintenance, without any compromises in product performance.

Maintenance training and semi-annual inspections are provided by Zodiac Arresting Systems over the first year. The company also offers field strength testing capability as an option to evaluate the condition of EMAS beds, enabling airports to make informed decisions regarding maintenance and product life. It is significant to note that a number of EMAS beds in service are 10 or more years old and are deemed perfectly viable and capable of stopping aircraft safely.

Zodiac Arresting Systems, a subsidiary of Zodiac Aerospace, is widely recognized as the world’s leading authority on energy absorption and is the leading manufacturer of military and commercial aircraft arresting systems.  The company has developed products for the controlled deceleration of aircraft, including the Space Shuttle and Concorde, for over 70 years.

Aerial PWK photo courtesy of Chicago Executive Airport. Photos of the new installation can be obtained by calling Rob Mark (Chicago Executive Airport) at 847-644-1575 or via email: rmark@chiexec.com

ENGINEERED ARRESTING SYSTEMS CORPORATION dba ZODIAC ARRESTING SYSTEMS AMERICA
2239 High Hill Road, Logan Township, NJ 08085 USA – Tel:  +1 856 241 8620 – Fax:  +1 856 241 8621 http://www.emasmax.com email: emasmax@zodiacaerospace.com