overshot the runway meaning price

Recent Examples on the Web No one knows if these rapid increases will overshootand push the economy into a recession, causing markets to fall and unemployment.

One risk, O’Leary notes, it that the Fed may overshooton interest rates because the drop in housing prices, which takes 16 to 18 months to be correctly reflected in CPI data, is not being taken into account.

Markets are skittish that the Fed"s actions — which take a while to feed through the system — could overshoot, sending the US economy into a prolonged and deep recession.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word "overshoot." Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

It means that the aircraft has touched down on the runway before going off it. Overshoot is used in the same sense (note that overrun/overshoot occurs both in TO/landing).

However, there is one case where they are used differently. Overshooting the runway also can mean that the aircraft has touched beyond the end of the runway i.e. missed the runway entirely.

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

``This is no fair chance you put on me, proud Prince,"" said the yeoman, ``to compel me to peril myself against the best archers of Leicester And Staffordshire, under the penalty of infamy if they should overshoot me.

She merely kept the boat before the stream now, and rested on her oars, knowing well that if the face were not soon visible, it had gone down, and she would overshoot it.

This means that the earth"s population is currently consuming the resources of future generations.The Earth Overshoot Day fell this year on July 29, which is the earliest date ever, according to a report from the Global Footprint Network.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the day when human demand for food, fiber, timber, and carbon absorption (global Ecological Footprint) exceeds the amount of biological resources which Earth"s ecosystems can renew in the whole year (global biocapacity).

Slovakia"s Overshoot Day, calculated by Global Footprint Network, fell on May 27 last year, but it came earlier in 2019.Therefore, Slovakia"s current Overshoot Day suggests that Slovaks need 2.6 planets to satisfy their needs.

Further investigations also revealed that part of the cost overrun threatening to overshoot the $1.5bn Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail project includes: Apapa port rail sidings initially budgeted at 2.4km, but now estimated at 6.4km.

Earth overshoot day marks when people have used up the food, timber and other natural products Earth can sustainably provide, and has absorbed as much carbon emissions as a result of human activity as it can, for the year.

A red alert is called when lightning hits too close to the airport. It"s an automatic system that, when activated, clears ground crew from the apron -- or the part of the landing area where planes saddle up to the terminal. During a red alert, planes can leave and come into the airport. But it"s unsafe for ground crew to guide them anywhere, so passengers and pilots have to just sit tight.

The visibility of the airport was, at its lowest, six kilometres yesterday. However, Greater Toronto Airport Authority spokesman Steve Shaw said that distance is well within the airport"s comfort zone.

"The major problem with the weather was with the thunder cells going through setting off the red alerts," Mr. Shaw said. "It caused a backlog of traffic."

"At 4:04 p.m. there were winds gusts from the northwest at 33 knots, a bit more than 56 kilometres an hour. The gusts were associated with strong thunderstorms. It was fairly warm and humid, with heavy rain in the area," said Robert Lefebzre, director of services to Aviation and Defence in Environment Canada.

In the 1960s one plane crashed after it was struck by lightning in mid-air, he said. In the 1980"s two planes crashed in South America after they were hit by lightning. In each instance everyone on board was killed.

Usually there are fuel tanks in the back of the plane. In a crash situation it is not unusual that a fire would start in the back where the auxiliary power unit is housed. It provides internal power for the plane.

Bad weather, computer malfunction, pilot error may have played a role. The Airbus in yesterday"s accident had been flying for six years, making a maintenance problem with the plane unlikely. While it is impossible to immediately know what the cause was, it was likely a combination of factors.

"There will be very little environmental impact. Our team is out there checking Etobicoke Creek, looking for jet fuel. We haven"t found anything to be concerned about, particularly since the fire has already been put out," said Brian Park, environmental officer at Spills Action Centre, Ontario Ministry of Environment.

The unintended consequences of well-meaning regulation is a theme we discuss frequently here on DisCo.  (Note: This is different than cynical, anticompetitive regulations that are pushed under the guise of well-intentioned “consumer protection”, which is another recurring DisCo topic.)

In that vein, I filed comments on behalf of CCIA discussing the potential impact of new proposed regulations by the Department of Transportation aimed at requiring airlines to disclose the full cost of travel up front (instead of playing hide the ball with a litany of added fees).

The aim of this rulemaking is noble and economically sound. Econ 101 tells us that competition works best when certain conditions are present.  One of those conditions is that “perfect information” is available to consumers and producers.   The principle is that markets work best when everyone involved knows the full price up front and can assess their options before purchasing.  (Obviously, “perfect” is an ideal on one side of a continuum.)  In fact, this is an area where all sides of the political spectrum should agree — at least in theory.  Narrow rules that increase pricing (and quality of service) transparency would help the free market work better, and decrease the need for regulation, as consumers would be better able to discipline market participants with their consumption decisions.  In English that translates to: if airlines are screwing consumers on price or quality, and consumers know that up front, they can purchase a ticket on another airline, making that airline less likely to screw customers.   Hence, the “disciplinary power” of a well functioning market.  (Now, it is an entirely different debate as to whether the airline market is competitive enough given the recent wave of airline consolidation and the market’s unique structure, but that is an argument beyond the scope of this post.  No matter how competitive that market is right now, it is difficult to argue with the contention that better pricing information up front will make it work better.)

However, while “open data” is a good thing, regulations that go further than requiring a standardized output of raw data, governing how data is displayed by third parties, would be unwise.  As the growth of the Internet economy has illustrated, the packaging and display of information to consumers is an important sector of economic activity where new participants and innovation currently abound.  Locking in a particular type of display or presentation would slow growth and harm competition in the metasearch market.

DOT should require airlines to make their extra fees transparent to potential purchasers of airline tickets.  Not only is open pricing data a sound goal, but it will fuel the thriving travel search industry (aka “metasearch”) by providing websites such as Kayak, Bing Travel, Google Flight Search and Hipmunk more raw material to create more accurate flight search results.  The goal of these companies is to make it easier for consumers to compare travel options, so opening up more pricing data to them will naturally encourage DOT’s desired pro-consumer effect without the need for more onerous regulation.

Regulations requiring the disclosure of travel cost information by airlines and ticket agents should not extend to telling metasearch sites how to display information.  How metasearch companies display and package travel information to consumers is they key differentiating factor between metasearch sites.  Defining an overly rigid display format could have the unintended consequence of harming innovation and competition in this space.  As an example, Hipmunk, a travel startup that has recently shown strong growth and consumer appeal,received $20 million in venture funding based on its novel ideas in displaying and organizing travel information.

The DOT should also avoid classifying metasearch sites as traditional travel agents, as the sites themselves are merely information tools and do not have control over the ticketing process.  One key principle of U.S. Internet policy, reflected in laws such as Section 230 of the CDA and the DMCA safe harbor, is that Internet intermediaries are not the providers of the underlying product or service and, therefore, should not be subject to the same responsibilities or liabilities as the providers of the underlying service.  In this case, that service is directly selling air travel inventory.  (For a longer discussion of Internet intermediary policy, see this comprehensive OECD report.)

Aircraft are expensive. With the cost of a new A380 coming in at $444 million USD list price, airlines are incredibly reluctant to ever take an aircraft out of service. But, throughout history, airlines have either been forced to write off an aircraft (sometimes even brand new) or in some special cases, spent millions of dollars more than the aircraft is worth to not write it off.

Before we dive into the specifics of what it takes for an airline to write off an aircraft, we first need to understand what the term "written off" means.

Specifically, if an aircraft is split in two and its parts spread over a runway then its likely that this is a hull loss. But if an aircraft is damaged through use, an incident or just requires extensive maintenance, airlines might choose to just write off the aircraft and replace it with a (sometimes cheaper) new aircraft.

However... it also depends on who is paying for these repairs. If an aircraft was grounded due to a fault (such as the Boeing 737 MAX groundings) would the airline actually pay for the aircraft being written off? Or would the manufacturer? Depending on insurance, it is possible that the aircraft will be rebuilt, recertified, repainted and back in the skies on someone else"s dime.

There have been some incidences where an airline has straight up had to write off an aircraft; Etihad had to give up on a brand new Airbus A340-600 (Tail number F-WWCJ) after the test pilot ran it into a wall at the Airbus factory. The forward section of the aircraft actually split off and the whole aircraft had to just be scrapped.

In 1999, Qantas QF1 was landing at Bangkok airport during a heavy rainstorm, when it overshot the runway. According to the crash report, it was a combination of pilot error, low visibility, problems with the flaps and the aircraft hydroplaning on the wet runway. The Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway, collapsing its nose and right landing gear and damaging two of its engines. Fortunately, beyond the runway was an empty golf course (due to the rain) and no one was seriously injured.

By all accounts, the entire Qantas Boeing 747-400 was a write-off. It would cost Qantas more than the book value of the aircraft to get in back in the sky. But there is something worth more to Qantas than money, and that"s its reputation for never losing an aircraft.

Thus Qantas footed the bill for the incident, spending the cost of a brand new Boeing 747 to get their older one back in the sky. The Boeing 747-400 in question, tail number VH-OJH, would go on to serve the airline until September 2012 (essentially another 13 years!).

An engineered materials arrestor system, engineered materials arresting system (EMAS), or arrester bedrunway to reduce the severity of the consequences of a runway excursion. Engineered materials are defined in FAA Advisory Circular No 150/5220-22B as "high energy absorbing materials of selected strength, which will reliably and predictably crush under the weight of an aircraft". While the current technology involves lightweight, crushable concrete blocks, any material that has been approved to meet the FAA Advisory Circular can be used for an EMAS. The purpose of an EMAS is to stop an aircraft overrun with no human injury and minimal aircraft damage. The aircraft is slowed by the loss of energy required to crush the EMAS material. An EMAS is similar in concept to the runaway truck ramp or race circuit gravel trap, made of gravel or sand. It is intended to stop an aircraft that has overshot a runway when there is an insufficient free space for a standard runway safety area (RSA). Multiple patents have been issued on the construction and design on the materials and process.

As of May 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been working on developing a harmonized regulation regarding arresting systems.

Research projects completed in Europe have looked into the cost-effectiveness of EMAS. Arrestor beds have been installed at airports where the runway safety areas are below standards, and their ability to stop aircraft with minimal or no damage to the air frame and its occupants has proven to bring results far beyond the cost of installations. The latest report, "Estimated Cost-Benefit Analysis of Runway Severity Reduction Based on Actual Arrestments", shows how the money saved through the first 11 arrestments has reached a calculated total of 1.9 billion USD, thus saving more than $1 B over the estimated cost of development (R&D, all installations worldwide, maintenance and repairs reaching a total of USD 600 million). The study suggests that mitigating the consequences of runway excursions worldwide may turn out to be much more cost-effective than the current focus on reducing the already very low probability of occurrence.

The FAA"s design criteria for new airports designate Runway Safety Areas (RSAs) to increase the margin of safety if an overrun occurs and to provide additional access room for response vehicles. A United States federal law required that the length of RSAs in airports was to be 1,000 feet (300 m) by the end of 2015, in a response to a runway overrun into a highway at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.

As of 2017 the FAA reported that EMAS systems had been used 12 times, but that in some situations pilots tried to avoid the EMAS, steering to the grass sides in 30–40 kn (56–74 km/h; 35–46 mph) low-energy events in order to avoid publicity.

Of the 15 non-U.S. installations, eight were provided by Zodiac Arresting Systems (two in China, two in Madrid, one in Taiwan, two in Norway and one in Saudi Arabia), six were provided by RunwaySafe (one in Switzerland, and three in overseas departments of France – one in Reunion Island, two in Mayotte), one in Japan, one in Germany, two in Brazil and one provided by Hankge (China).

The first EMAS was developed in the mid-1990s by ESCO/Engineered Arresting Systems Corp. (later Zodiac Arresting Systems) as part of a collaboration and technical acceptance by the FAA. The fourth generation EMAS arrestor beds are composed of blocks of lightweight, crushable cellular concrete material, encased in jet blast resistant protection, designed to safely stop airplanes that overshoot runways. Zodiac"s EMAS is installed on over 110 airport runways at over 65 airports on three continents.

The Swedish company Runway Safe AB developed an EMAS system, a foamed silica bed made from recycled glass contained within a high-strength plastic mesh system anchored to the pavement at the end of the runway. The foamed silica is poured into lanes bounded by the mesh and covered with a poured cement layer and treated with a top coat of sealant.

On 19 January 2010, a Bombardier CRJ-200 commercial regional airliner with 34 persons aboard overran the runway at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after a rejected takeoff.

On 2 November 2011, a Cessna Citation II business aircraft with 5 persons aboard overran the runway at Key West International Airport in Key West, Florida.

In October 2013, a Cessna 680 Citation business aircraft with 8 persons aboard overran the runway at Palm Beach International in West Palm Beach, Florida.

In October 2016, a Boeing 737 aircraft with 37 persons aboard, including Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence, overran the runway at LaGuardia Airport, New York.

On 27 February 2019 an Embraer Phenom 100 operated by Quest Diagnostic Laboratories overran a runway at the Charles B. Wheeler Kansas City Downtown Airport (KMKC) at 4:28am local time resulting in the safe stopping of the aircraft with the pilot being the only occupant aboard.

After the 8 December 2005 overshoot of Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 at Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, which is located in a heavily congested area, an EMAS was installed on Rwy 13C/31C.

On 13 October 2006, New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez"s private jet was brought to a halt safely by the EMAS installation at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California. The system was installed after the 2000 Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 runway overshoot that injured 43 passengers and the captain.

Boburg, Shawn (17 September 2013). "Teterboro Airport gets $1M for runway project". northjersey.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.

"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.link) FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13A (PDF)

Jacobs, Kenneth (1 March 2006). "Runway Safety Areas - An Airport Operator"s Perspective". Federal Aviation Administration. pp. 8, 9, 13. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2014.

"PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 N246PS operating as US Airways flight 2495 from Charleston, West Virginia (CRW) to Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT) with 30 passengers [sic] and 3 crew, overran the runway following a rejected take-off. The aircraft was stopped by the EMAS at the end of the runway, sustaining only minor damage to its landing gear doors."

"A Cessna Citation landed at Key West. The flight, which originated in Fort Lauderdale with 3 passengers and 2 crew, had a brake failure upon landing in Key West and was successfully stopped by the airport"s newly installed EMAS. Only minor injuries were reported."

Mele, Christopher (27 October 2016). "Plane With Mike Pence Aboard Skids Off La Guardia Runway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

Oldham, Jennifer (14 October 2006). "Yankee Player"s Jet Overruns Runway in Burbank". The airport installed the $4-million safety system after a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 skidded off the same runway and onto a street in 2000, injuring 43 passengers and the captain on the same runway.

In economics, overshooting, also known as the exchange rate overshooting hypothesis, is a way to think about and explain high levels of volatility in currency exchange rates using the concept of price stickiness.

Instead, a domino effect first impacts other factors—such as financial markets, money markets, derivatives markets, and bond markets—which then transfers its influence onto the prices of goods.

Overshooting was introduced to the world by Rüdiger Dornbusch, a renowned German economist focusing on international economics, including monetary policy, macroeconomic development, growth, and international trade. Dornbusch first introduced the model, now widely known as the Dornbusch Overshooting Model, in the famous paper "Expectations and Exchange Rate Dynamics," which was published in 1976 in the Journal of Political Economy.

Before Dornbusch, economists generally believed that markets should, ideally, arrive at equilibrium and stay there. Some economists had argued that volatility was purely the result of speculators and inefficiencies in the foreign exchange market, such as asymmetric information or adjustment obstacles.

Dornbusch rejected this view. Instead, he argued that volatility was more fundamental to the market than this, much closer to inherent in the market than to being simply and exclusively the result of inefficiencies. More basically, Dornbusch was arguing that in the short run, equilibrium is reached in the financial markets, and in the long run, the price of goods responds to these changes in the financial markets.

The overshooting model argues that the foreign exchange rate will temporarily overreact to changes in monetary policy to compensate for sticky prices of goods in the economy. This means that, in the short run, the equilibrium level will be reached through shifts in financial market prices, rather than through shifts in the prices of goods themselves. Gradually, as the prices of goods unstick and adjust to the reality of these financial market prices, the financial market, including the foreign exchange market, also adjusts to this financial reality.

So, initially, foreign exchange markets overreact to changes in monetary policy, which creates equilibrium in the short term. Then, as the prices of goods gradually respond to these financial market prices, the foreign exchange markets temper their reaction and create long-term equilibrium. Thus, there will be more volatility in the exchange rate due to overshooting and subsequent corrections than would otherwise be expected.

Although Dornbusch"s model was compelling, initially it was also regarded as somewhat radical due to its assumption of sticky prices. Today, sticky prices are accepted as fitting with empirical economic observations, and Dornbusch"s Overshooting Model is widely regarded as the forerunner to modern international economics. In fact, some have said it "marks the birth of modern international macroeconomics."

The overshooting model is considered especially significant because it explained exchange rate volatility during a time when the world was moving from fixed to floating rate exchanges. Kenneth Rogoff, during his stint as economic counselor and director of the research department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said Dornbusch"s paper imposed "rational expectations" on private actors about exchange rates. "Rational expectations is a way of imposing overall consistency on one"s theoretical analysis," Rogoff wrote on the paper"s 25th anniversary.

Let’s cut right to the chase: there is a strong case to be made that many base-to-final accidents may have as a significant factor the pilot’s fear of a runway overshoot, fearing that any runway overshoot can only be disastrous. However, if pilots have flown even one deliberate runway overshoot and seen that the real issue is instead fear of the unknown, then just one five minute traffic pattern with a deliberate runway overshoot has the potential to significantly reduce loss of control accidents. After all, go arounds are routinely taught to reduce fear of the unknown, so why not runway overshoots? One university flight department is currently working to implement deliberate runway overshoots into its pre-solo curriculum.

This all started with the EAA Founder’s Innovation Prize contest, whose first year was 2016. The background research involved was analysis in great detail of 551 NTSB reports of homebuilt aircraft, sometimes reviewing them three or more times, plus supporting information from the docket and other sources. That in turn led to in-flight exercises to familiarize pilots with sight pictures and sensations outside of normal middle of the envelope flight.

Then came a breakthrough. One of the subject pilots severely botched a low speed steep turn and there was digital flight data of the event, thanks to the glass cockpit in the RV-9A. Based on that event, I hypothesized that loss of control in a base-to-final turn was not a problem of lack of information, but rather of not adequately processing all the information already available. That in turn led to the theory of cognitive availability, suspecting that the most effective remedy to loss of control was not teaching technique—which is already well covered—but exposing pilots to sensations and out the windshield pictures without being distracted by watching instruments, so that the pilots would remain cognitively available to process the required information in stressful, unfamiliar situations.

That in turn led to yet another pass through the data and the discovery that not all stall/spins were in fact stall/spins, but some were low speed spirals. But why?

In the development of the Expanded Envelope Exercises®, subject pilots, including retired airline pilots and very senior ex-military test pilots, gave useful information with their body language and facial expressions. On those flights, I didn’t describe the exercises until just before we flew them. The body language when I announced that we were going to deliberately fly through the final approach path spoke volumes.

There was also one very recent flight in which I misjudged the tailwind on base and was overshooting final myself. I could not believe how strong the temptation was to tighten up the turn and not overshoot. Marveling at my own psychology, I chose to overshoot the turn by one runway width rather than tighten it up excessively and unnecessarily. It was amazing that even with all of the research I’ve done and all the times I’ve taught the deliberate overshoot, I myself was still susceptible to very strong pressures not to overshoot. The law of primacy at work?

Pilots were distracted by spending too much attention focusing on runway alignment and were cognitively unavailable to pay attention to pitch and airspeed.

This leaves Hypotheses 1 and 2. There’s no real way of knowing the psychology of a pilot in a fatal accident, but these two hypotheses seem plausible. And Hypothesis 1 has a trivial solution—go out and try it!

First, observe that turning final late has the exact same aerodynamics as turning final at the correct time. The only differences are the psychological aspects and the need to maybe turn a bit more than 90 degrees. Then again, in a traffic pattern with a tailwind on base, the turn to final will be more than 90 degrees anyway. In other words, there is no extra risk to this exercise, aerodynamically.

Here’s the descriptor: Fly base leg to intercept the final approach leg at 500 feet or higher (the same altitude as turns around a point). Do not turn final until crossing the extended runway centerline. Using your normal bank angle, turn final to fly parallel to the extended runway centerline. Then, using the same technique used for S-turns on final, gradually and gracefully align with the runway centerline, and land normally.

Some will suggest that on any runway overshoot, the only acceptable option is to immediately go around. While there may be merit to that argument in real world operations, especially for pilots with limited experience or in very challenging conditions, this exercise is a learning experience, to see the sight picture and to feel the emotions. Doing an early go around while training will compromise that learning experience.

Analysis of the NSTB reports, flight tests and other sources indicate four ways to get into trouble turning base to final. Although the accident mechanisms differ, all four seem to be susceptible to either Hypothesis 1 or 2 as major factors.

Aggravated low speed spiral: same as above, but the pilot mistakes the low speed spiral for a spin entry and adds forward stick, aggravating the unusual attitude.

Spin out the bottom: pilot applies too much rudder to align with the runway while adding excessive back pressure, resulting in a spin out the bottom, as it used to be called.

Spin over the top: pilot banks too much, uses elevator to tighten the turn and rudder to keep the nose up, resulting in a spin over the top, as it used to be called.

This exercise will probably not solve all base to final loss of control situations, but it will definitely solve some. Given that the cost is only one lap around the pattern and the benefit is the possibility of saving lives, this exercise has much to commend it.

When somebody takes the time to thoroughly analyze stalls after takeoff, they are going to find that existing statistics are at best misleading and well worth a quite colorful description.

For example, in the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) Loss of Control Working Group’s Approach and Landing & Departure and Enroute from October 29, 2014, they studied 85 NTSB reports, of which 29 were experimental, amateur built. I classified eight of those 29 events as primarily traffic pattern events—only one was on takeoff/go around, and that was a pitch up on go around. I classified seven as pilot skills events, two of those being first flights in a homebuilt, one pilot was known to be scared of the plane, and two pilots were unlicensed. Those five egregious events were not called out into a separate category as would have been appropriate. By the way, the GAJSC used this data set to recommend angle of attack indicators, a recommendation that is at best a stretch.

I also generated a set of 40 “stall after takeoff” events, according to the NTSB classification and again, those were experimental, amateur built aircraft. A half dozen of those were STOL aircraft that crashed immediately after takeoff, one of those being an instructor giving dual. He had rudder pedals on his side, but not a control stick. Eight or so of the “stall after takeoff” were more properly classified as failure to achieve sustained flight. One stall after takeoff occurred when the canopy came off the airplane at 1000 feet.

Ever heard the expression, when all you’ve got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail? Similarly, if the only accident classification you’ve got for events after takeoff is stall, every event after takeoff will become a stall. But just becase a stall occurred after takeoff does not mean that the stall was causal or even that “stall” was an accurate descriptor. It certainly doesn’t mean that all those “stalls” could be remedied in the same way.

Yes, there are stalls after takeoff and in the pattern, but nobody yet has taken the time to classify all these events to appropriately high levels of detail. That analysis will be a major undertaking, and the results will be muddled and confused, but not clear cut.

Recently, Air India Express airplane carrying 190 people crashed while landing at Kozhikode international airport in India. The plane overshot the runway and fell into 35 feet deep valley taking life of 18 people sitting in the plane including pilot and co-pilot. It is because the pilot turned off both the engines the massive body did not catch the fire, which saved the life of hundreds of people in the plane. This happened although Wing Commander Deepak Vasant Sathe (retired), a top-notch Indian Air Force pilot, was the captain of the aircraft. This incident shades a light on challenges in landing the aircraft on tabletop runways. We need to understand few technical terms to before analyzing such accidents.

First let us understand tabletop runway. Tabletop runway is built on a plateau or a hill having deep cliff on one or both the sides of the runway. This can be understood by the analogy in the name - tabletop. Imagine a plane landing on the table having a drop on both of its ends which is sometimes hundreds of feet. Not all tabletop runways built on mountains, some being built on islands surrounded by sea on both sides. Some airports might have short runways having an upward slope. This helps aircraft to stop within a short distance. It is not possible to completely stop high speed aircraft in short distance as it carries large momentum. So, on such runways there is very little margin of error while landing an aircraft. That is why these runways pose challenges to even highly skilled and experienced pilots.

Most of the accidents happen either while landing or while takeoff of the plane. This is because pilot has very little time to react in these cases and even a slight mistake or ignorance can cause plane to crash. Lot of factors are involved while landing or taking off and it is necessary to understand the technique and process involved in these two phases. As we are analyzing plane crash while landing lets understand how landing takes place.

Every airport has air traffic controller (ATC), an electronic room at the airport, which handles take off and landings of all planes for that airport. Any plane ready for landing first contacts ATC of that airport. ATC assigns runway number it and makes sure the runway is available for landing. Once ATC sends go ahead signal for the landing next phase is to align the aircraft with runway. Pilot needs to maintain required height and align the aircraft with the center of the runway. It is also necessary to have a specific angle with the horizontal. To help the pilot for achieving required angle with horizontal and vertical all airports have Instrument Landing System.  These are microwave antennas installed at the start of the runway which emit specific frequencies. The transponder in the aircraft receives these signals, decodes it and calculates current position of the aircraft which is shown in the display installed in the cockpit. Thus, ILS helps pilot to take accurate position for landing. Once this is done pilot has to reduce speed and height maintaining the same position to touch runway at specific spot.

Airport runway has specific markings which have specific meaning. Pilots see these markings from the plane and try to land plane accordingly. Here are some important markings and their significance:Runway Centerline Markings: The centerline of a runway provides alignment guidance for taking off and landing. It consists of a line of 120-foot stripes and 80-foot gaps.

Runway Threshold Bar: A threshold bar presents the beginning of the runway available for landing if the threshold has been relocated or displaced. This bar is 10 feet wide and extends across the runway’s width.

Runway Touchdown Zone Markers: These markings pinpoint the touchdown for landing operations and are coded to provide distance information. These markings are grouped into one, two and three rectangular bars arranged in pairs about the centerline.

Runway Aiming Point Marking: The aiming point marking is used for a landing airplane. There are two rectangular markings with a large white stripe on either side runway centerline about 1,000 feet from the landing threshold.

These markings are visible in clear day time and white lights are used in the night to indicate safe landing points. However, it is very difficult for a pilot to spot these markings cloudy weather conditions.

Now we know required terms to analyze the challenges in landing on tabletop runway. So lets find out these challenges and some remedies to avoid similar accidents.

Plane must touch the ground at required position. Slight mistake may cause overshooting which means landing far away from the specified position. This makes impossible to stop the plane before the runway ends causing plane to crash in a valley after the runway. If plane overshoots pilot may decide to take off again instead of stopping the plane on the ground. This is called as go around. This is possible if plane is high enough to skip the landing and try another time. However, if it close to ground It requires large engine thrust to take off and fly again. If flight fail to take off properly it is going to make situation worse.  Sometimes flight engines thump the ground and may stop working or catch the fire. So, it is important to know much before if plane is going to overshoot. Too many go arounds create excessive pressure on pilot and this frustration force him/her to land the plane.

Bad weather conditions and fast flowing wind cause lot of trouble while decreasing height and speed of aircraft. Wind plays important role while landing. Heavy flowing wind pushes aircraft in wind direction. Direction of wind and speed makes difficult to align and land the plane correctly. If wind is in the same direction as that of plane it will push aircraft forward. In such situation plane may overshot the runway. Cloudy weather makes runway invisible and then pilot must take an accurate guess.

Due to the construction of the runway and its angle with horizon there can be an optical illusion. Runway might seem closer than it is, often misjudging the remaining length of the runway and overshooting. Raining makes runway slippery thus required friction cannot be generated to stop the plane. So, in such cases even landing is at correct place it becomes difficult to stop the plane before the runway ends. And we can imagine what might happen if plane overshoot the runway. Pilot has very little time to react in such situation and a panic may cause more errors even by professional pilots.

Sometimes airlines put pressure on pilot for smooth landing. This can be to provide comfort for passengers and there by increasing reputation of the airline. But this creates extra pressure on pilot in addition to bad weather conditions, slippery runways, fatigue due to long duration flight and dangerous construction of runways. Trying to land plane smoothly, pilot cannot reduce height and speed as expected as it causes plane vibrations. Thus, this pressure creates chances of overshooting.

How can we avoid these accidents?It is necessary to identify dangerous airports and avoid landing or takeoff of large commercial planes. Airforce planes can use such airports as they have ejection seat and they carry a smaller number of people.

Downward slope on the runway gives extra push to the plane. Thus at least tabletop runways must be straight and perfectly horizontal to ground surface.

An autopilot system in aircraft can be capable of many very time intensive tasks, helping the pilot focus on the overall status of the aircraft and flight. Pilot must not depend totally on autopilot systems. Any misfunctioning can happen in machines thus it not good to handover the complete process to automatic systems.

​​The petition has mentioned accidents of August 7 at Calicut International Airport and May 22, 2010 at Mangalore -- both having table-top runways -- to buttress the installation of EMAS, which is a bed of engineered materials built at the end of a runway to reduce severity of consequences to aircrafts overshooting runaways.16 Sep, 2020, 06.53 PM IST

"We will conduct additional checks at major, busy airports across India that are affected by the monsoon rains," Arun Kumar, head of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in an interview late on Monday. "We will review everything - the condition of the runway, its incline, the lighting as well as drainage."11 Aug, 2020, 12.19 PM IST

The Air India Express plane, which was repatriating Indians stranded in Dubai due to the coronavirus pandemic, overshot the runway of the Calicut International Airport in heavy rain near the southern city of Kozhikode on Friday. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground, officials said.10 Aug, 2020, 04.40 PM IST

A tabletop runway, like the one in Kozhikode, is built on the plateau of a hill, with one or both ends leading to a deep gorge. The runways are tricky and can create an optical illusion which makes it difficult for a pilot to land safely. India has three such runways.10 Aug, 2020, 04.40 PM IST

Deshmukh met his relatives here on Saturday to pay his condolences. "The family expressed concerns about table-top airports in the country while speaking to me. They said the Civil Aviation Ministry should ensure that such incidents do not happen again," he told reporters.08 Aug, 2020, 06.00 PM IST

On Friday, the airline"s plane overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport, fell into a slope before breaking into two pieces. While there was no fire, at least 18 people, including two pilots, are dead in the crash, which also happened when there were rains.08 Aug, 2020, 02.58 PM IST

The pilots clearly violated all procedures and need to be punished, said a senior DGCA official on a condition of anonymity.29 Jul, 2019, 08.14 PM IST

The circular, titled "Monsoon Operations", comes as the main runway at Mumbai airport continues to remain shut after a SpiceJet plane from Jaipur veered off it while landing.03 Jul, 2019, 12.31 PM IST

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI that it is probing incidents of planes overshooting runway after landing.02 Jul, 2019, 10.19 PM IST

As many as 148 people on board the Mumbai-bound Jet Airways flight escaped unhurt after the aircraft went off the runway following an aborted take off from there on August 3, the airline had said.06 Aug, 2018, 03.08 PM IST

Air India Express flight IX 213 from Vijaywada to Mumbai, landed & came to halt deep into the runway at 2:51 pm, overshooting the runway, said the airline.10 Jul, 2018, 05.40 PM IST

Flight SG 703 coming from Varanasi landed on runway 27, overshot it and got stuck im the muddy area on the side. Mumbai is India"s second busiest airport.19 Sep, 2017, 11.11 PM IST

After the brake failure, the aircraft suffered tyre burst and overshot the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip. Four of its tyres burst.09 Jun, 2017, 05.46 PM IST

"An emergency evacuation was carried out.All 152 passengers are safe," said a statement from the airline. The runway has been closed.12 May, 2017, 08.12 PM IST

A plane carrying top aides of Philippine President Benigno Aquino overshot a runway in stormy weather today, authorities said.17 Jan, 2015, 03.13 PM IST

Aerospace experts say flat terrain should be the first choice for an airport and table-top runways only in an “absolute no-choice situation”.24 May, 2010, 12.00 PM IST

MUMBAI: An Air India Express flight overshot the runway today while landing at Mumbai airport. However, all passengers were safe and there was no damage to either the aircraft or the runway, the airline said in a statement.

"Air India Express flight IX 213 from Vijaywada to Mumbai, landed & came to halt deep into the runway at 2:51 pm, overshooting the runway. Now Air India Express Engineering team is inspecting the aircraft at Mumbai airport. All passengers are safe," reported ANI quoting Air India Express CEO KS Sunder.

Though there is no official confirmation about the reason why plane overshot the runway, slippery condition of the runway due to rains may be the reason behind the incident.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday raised policy interest rates by a quarter percentage point, the sixth climb in a row for a key gauge, and signalled the latest increase gives it elbow room to pause before taking a broader directional call on the cost of funds amid widening differences within the rate-setting committee.