The Complete Guide to Airport Safety Self-Inspection
Core PathWay
1 Key Vocabulary
You are going to hear these terms in the article – make sure you know what they mean. hazardous, ensuring, pavement areas, safety areas, markings, signs, lighting, aircraft rescue, firefighting, fuelling operations, navigational aids, ground vehicles, impediments, public protection, animal hazard management, quarterly, an accident, an incident, edges, general housekeeping, fissures, loading ramps, ruts, humps, overlooked
2 The Complete Guide to Airport Safety Self-Inspection
The Stories
The Complete Guide to Airport Safety Self-Inspection
Airport safety is very important. Some hazardous conditions appear suddenly, while others develop over time. The airport operator must have a self-inspection program. This program watches specific airport conditions. Its goal is to find problems and fix them quickly.
The airport operator or a representative is responsible for self-inspection. Usually, the airport manager or operations supervisor is in charge of ensuring overall ground safety. They must inspect many things: pavement areas, safety areas, markings, signs, lighting, aircraft rescue and firefighting, fuelling operations, navigational aids, ground vehicles, impediments, public protection, and animal hazard management. Also, they check construction work, snow, and ice control.
People who do inspections can also check areas used by airlines, fixed base operators, or other tenants. At Part 139 airports, the FAA holds the certificate holder responsible for safe operation.
Types of Self-Inspections
1. Regularly scheduled: These happen daily, unless the ACM says something different. To have a small effect on airport operations, inspect the airport at least once a day when aircraft activity is low. If the airport serves air carriers after dark, do part of this inspection during darkness.
2. Continuous surveillance: Whenever employees are in the air operations area, they must watch activities and facilities that need constant attention. Hazardous situations can happen at any time.
3. Periodic: Do these inspections regularly but not every day. The time between inspections can be weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
4. Special: Do these after the airport receives a complaint, or when something unusual happens, such as a big weather event, an accident, or an incident. Also do special inspections after construction to make sure there are no dangerous conditions. If corrective actions are needed, inspect before construction workers leave the airport. Record special inspections in the routine checklist.
Inspection Items
1. Lighting: Lighting is very important for safe night operations and when visibility is low. Lights are on the pavement or along its edges. They come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and arrangements. Inspect them during darkness when pilots use them most. Focus on the airport operator's lighting, but also watch other lighting and report problems to the owner.
2. NAVAIDS: Inspect visual navigational aids owned by the airport operator. Also watch navigational aids owned by others, like the FAA, and report problems immediately.
3. Fueling: The daily inspection of aircraft fueling operations should check common problems with local fire safety rules at fuel storage and with mobile fuelers. Include security, fire protection, general housekeeping, and fuel distribution facilities and processes.
4. Paved and unpaved areas: The condition of pavement surfaces is critical for safety. Do daily inspections before flight operations to make sure pavement surfaces are clear. At a minimum, inspect all paved areas that the airport operator is responsible for, as defined in the FAA-approved Airport Certification Manual.
Inspection Checklist
1. Runway pavement: Check for cracks that are big enough to affect an aircraft's directional control. These fissures must be reported and monitored. Also check for gaps that could cause directional control problems.
2. Foreign object debris: In movement zones, aircraft parking areas, and loading ramps, inspect regularly and remove any foreign objects. This includes mud, dirt, sand, loose material, debris, rubber deposits, and other pollutants. Remove them as soon as possible.
3. Runway safety areas: The pavement must not have cracks or surface problems that could affect directional control of air carrier aircraft. Each safety area must be cleared and graded. There should be no ruts, humps, depressions, or other dangerous surface irregularities.
4. Vehicle roadway signs: At the intersection of each vehicle road with a runway or taxiway, place standard highway stop signs. This helps aircraft and ground vehicles move safely during taxi, takeoff, and landing. These marking signs and symbols should be the same at all airports worldwide. Their procurement must follow standards set for each airport operator.
5. Taxiway edge marking: Taxiway edge markings separate the taxiway from the rest of the pavement. The edge marker is continuous or dashed, depending on if the neighboring pavement is for aircraft use. If the taxiway edge has a continuous double-yellow stripe, do not cross it. Remove old pavement markings that are no longer needed.
Inspection Techniques
Fixed inspection patterns do not guarantee a thorough check. They can cause complacency and missing problems. So it is helpful to change who does inspections. Also, use digital records to make sure inspections happen on time and by the right staff.
Final Thoughts
Some hazardous conditions appear suddenly, others slowly. The airport operator must have a self-inspection program that watches specific conditions and fixes problems quickly. They should also do longer quarterly, semi-annual, and annual inspections to ensure nothing is overlooked.
3 Get Ready to Speak
Think about what you read and share your ideas. Here are some questions to discuss.
1. What do you think is the most important part of an airport inspection? Why?
2. Have you ever seen an airport inspection or a safety check at a different place (like a train station or a factory)? What happened?
3. If you were an airport manager, how would you make sure inspections are done carefully every day?
4. Do you agree that doing the same inspection pattern every day can make people less careful? How can airports avoid that problem?
5. What would you do if you found a dangerous object on a runway during an inspection?
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