{"id":43583,"date":"2022-11-09T16:36:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T16:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=43583"},"modified":"2022-11-17T11:08:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T11:08:47","slug":"runaway-on-the-runway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/runaway-on-the-runway\/","title":{"rendered":"Whoa! LOOK before you Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don’t get carried away!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Always look both ways before crossing the runway!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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You’re excited because you had a great jump \u2013 but don’t kill yourself on the ground
Photo courtesy of Skydive Spaceland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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When we were kids, pretty much everyone who took care of us taught us to look both ways before crossing any street. Right? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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This was probably one of the rare pieces of advice most of us didn\u2019t challenge too much, because no one wants to get hit by a car.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Why, then, do we not apply the same logic to crossing the runway at an active airport, especially one as busy as a dropzone? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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At drop zones where jumpers must cross the runway on foot to get back to the staging area after landing, jumpers crossing the runway in front of operating aircraft (or almost doing so) is inexplicably common. This is called a runway incursion, which is defined as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Runway Incursion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cany occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take off of aircraft.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Heath Richardson, chief pilot for Skydive Spaceland Dallas, comments, \u201cRunway incursions have directly caused many major aircraft accidents worldwide, resulting in significant loss of life. It\u2019s not just the individual jumper and a single pilot, but up to two dozen (or more) souls aboard each jump plane that are potentially endangered.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skydiver\/runway incursions are likely a simple result of jumpers being jazzed up on adrenaline after a skydive and being distracted by discussing the awesome jump with friends… but regardless of why they happen, there are both obvious and less obvious reasons why this is a really bad idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason 1: It\u2019s Dangerous (obviously)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Those spinny things on the fronts of most commonly used skydiving aircraft will do even more damage to you than a car! In the contest between you and a spinning prop, you\u2019ll both lose. You\u2019ll be severely injured at best, and the prop strike will require an engine teardown before returning to service\u2013also at best. At worst, you\u2019re dead, the pilot and passengers are injured or worse, and the airplane sustains further damage to its hull, wings, and\/or landing gear in addition to the prop and engine damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason 2: Airplanes Aren\u2019t Cars (less obviously)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis baby handles like it\u2019s on rails!\u201d
\u201cThis thing stops on a dime!\u201d<\/em>
Said no one about an aircraft while taxiing, taking off, or landing, EVER.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airplanes are designed to fly, with ground driving (taxiing) performance as a distantly secondary priority. Taxiing is what you have to do with an airplane to get it to and from the runway for its real job of flying. An airplane on the ground, whether it\u2019s taxiing slowly or going faster for takeoff or after landing, is not a nimble and responsive machine like a car. If it\u2019s taxiing slowly, it can at least stop quickly, but if you cross the runway in front of an airplane that\u2019s rolling at speed for takeoff or just after landing, it simply can\u2019t stop very fast and it can\u2019t even turn off the runway to avoid you without risking major damage. We all know how poorly it can go when a car runs off the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because airplanes aren\u2019t nimble on the ground, pilots don\u2019t like to cut it close with people crossing in front of them. They have to take evasive action long before an unaware jumper may even be aware there is a problem. Help a pilot out\u2026 NEVER cross the runway without looking both ways to see if an airplane is pointed at you. If it is, don\u2019t cross. Simple as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awareness is Prevention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Runway\/airplane awareness tends to be lower for jumpers who mostly jump at dropzones where they never or rarely have to walk across the runway, such as Skydive Arizona. Conversely, jumpers who call Skydive Perris, Skydive Spaceland Dallas or Skydive Empuriabrava home are pretty accustomed to crossing the runway routinely, so they will often be more aware of proper runway crossing procedures. Visitors to such drop zones, or regulars who land out on the other side of any active runway, should do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n