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Taxiway Centerline Deviation Study Preliminary research has shown that on many taxiway routes new large aircraft wingtips will intrude into the safety areas of adjacent taxiways, runways, and terminal areas based on Group V standards. Group VI standards call for increasing both taxiway widths and centerline-to-centerline separations from the current Group V standards. Using risk assessment and evaluating the impact of other safety factors, it must be determined what changes, if any, should be made to Group VI standards before the introduction of new large aircraft. Over the past few years, data has been collected and is being utilized in the development of new statistical tools for analyzing and determining risk factors associated with NLA operations on DGVI airports. It was determined that measuring taxiway centerline deviations of Boeing 747s would provide the data necessary to support the development of the improved statistical risk assessment tools. Phase One of the study was originally conducted at JFK International Airport in NY and continued in Anchorage, AK at the Ted Stevens International Airport. The focus of Phase One was the issue of taxiway width standards for Design Group VI airports. As of May 31, 2002 collection of taxiway deviation data at Anchorage International Airport was completed. In October 2002, Personnel of the FAA’s Airport Technology R&D Branch dismantled the collection system equipment, finalizing the first phase of the data collection process. In 2003, Engineering Brief No. 63 was released by the FAA which allows the Airbus A380 to operate on existing non-standard (75ft wide) straight sections of taxiways, on an interim basis under specific limited conditions. Phase Two of this project will focus on Separations and Obstacle Clearance Standards. This phase of the study has commenced with the installation of three new data collection systems at JFK International Airport. The newly installed systems are similar to previous ones at JFK and ANC and include the addition of cameras that enable visual verification of collected data points. Additionally, a second system is scheduled to be installed at San Francisco International Airport, CA. Data for Design Group V (B-747 aircraft) and Design Group IV aircraft will be collected. Final Report on JFK Taxiway Deviation Study - Phase One Final Report on ANC Taxiway Deviation Study Contact Project Lead: Jim Patterson Last Update:
10/16/07 |