Homework Assignment #2: Airfield Incidents in Practice: An A…

Topic: Airfields (Runways, Taxiways, Lighting, Signage, NAVAIDs, ATC, Weather, Security)

Points: 20

Type and Format: Individual, PDF or Word Submission, 12-point font

References: Cite your sources in APA 7 format (Zotero)

AI Citation: If you use AI for ideas or responses, use the appendix section within this document

to insert the AI prompts you used and the response generated by AI. Remember, AI should only

be used as a collaborative tool to explore perspectives and brainstorm ideas.

Length: 2-3 pages

Sources: News media articles, official reports, or aviation industry sources such as the FAA,

NTSB

Grading Rubric: Review the rubric on Carmen’s Assignment page to ensure all items are

adequately addressed

Objective

Airfields are among the most safety-critical and highly regulated areas of an airport. Incidents

and accidents on airfields rarely result from a single failure. Instead, they often stem from

interacting systems, environmental conditions, infrastructure limitations, and management

decisions.

This assignment allows you to examine a real-world airfield incident or accident and analyze it

from an airport management perspective, applying concepts learned in class to understand

how airfield design, operations, and management practices influence safety and outcomes.

Topic: Aircraft and vehicle conflicts

Your selected event must involve airfield operations and should be documented in:

News media

Industry publications

Official investigation summaries (FAA, NTSB reports)

Part 2: Describe the Incident

Briefly summarize:

Airport type (commercial service, regional, general aviation, hub size if known)

Weather and operational conditions

Aircraft and/or vehicles involved

Outcome of the event (damage, injuries, disruption, near miss)

Part 3: Airfield Systems Analysis

Using concepts from class, analyze how airfield components contributed to the incident.

Address at least three of the following, where applicable:

Runways or runway geometry

Taxiways and intersections

Pavement markings

Airfield signage

Airfield lighting (runway, taxiway, approach lighting)

Navigational Aids located on the airfield

Weather reporting facilities or wind indicators

Airfield security or access control

Construction or temporary changes

Focus on system-level factors, not just individual actions. System-level factors include broader

societal, environmental, corporate/institutional influences that shape the overall organization,

policies, and norms within the system (in this case, airports and airport systems).

Part 4:

Analyze the incident as if you were part of the airport management team:

Which contributing factors fall within airport management responsibility?

Which factors required coordination with ATC, airlines, airport constituents, or

tenants?

Were there policies, procedures, or design decisions that may have increased risk?

This section should demonstrate that you understand what airport managers can control,

influence, or mitigate

Part 5: Management Recommendations

Propose three realistic actions an airport manager could take to reduce the likelihood of a

similar incident:

At least one operational change

At least one infrastructure, signage, or lighting-related change

At least one policy, training, or coordination-related or communication-related

change

Your recommendations should be:

Practical

Aligned with airport operations

Focused on safety improvement and mitigation

Part 6: Reflection – Connecting Theory to Practice

In a short concluding paragraph, reflect on:

What did this incident teach you about the complexity of airfield management?

How does understanding airfields change your view of the airport managers role?

Which airfield topic from class do you now see as most critical and why?