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B737-800 flight crew believes that runway 33L at bwi is unsafe while construction is in progress.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1222117 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201412 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | BWI.Airport |
| State Reference | MD |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 213 Flight Crew Type 1000 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 172 Flight Crew Type 172 |
Narrative:
We landed a visual approach to runway 33L 'shortened' at bwi uneventfully; but were very alarmed to see men and equipment actively working on the closed section of the airport while aircraft were landing. I estimate that on the normal glidepath provided by the PAPI's; we passed only about 100 feet above the heads of numerous construction personnel and vehicles. We did not deem it dangerous enough to warrant a go around but I just wonder if it is worth the added risk to conduct landing operations with personnel and equipment so close to and just under the glide path. To make matters worse; the runway is shortened and has no landing markings at 1000' to help pilots gauge a safe touchdown point. With a shortened runway and no markings; pilots are naturally prone to err on the side of crossing the threshold lower than normal in order to preclude a long landing. This increases the risk of coming too close to the men and equipment. Has someone at the proper level assessed the risk of this operation? Do the supposed rewards of a higher landing traffic capacity at the airport really justify taking on this level of risk? I think active construction to the runway should only occur when the runway is closed to aircraft.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737-800 flight crew believes that Runway 33L at BWI is unsafe while construction is in progress.
Narrative: We landed a visual approach to Runway 33L 'shortened' at BWI uneventfully; but were very alarmed to see men and equipment actively working on the closed section of the airport while aircraft were landing. I estimate that on the normal glidepath provided by the PAPI's; we passed only about 100 feet above the heads of numerous construction personnel and vehicles. We did not deem it dangerous enough to warrant a go around but I just wonder if it is worth the added risk to conduct landing operations with personnel and equipment so close to and just under the glide path. To make matters worse; the runway is shortened and has no landing markings at 1000' to help Pilots gauge a safe touchdown point. With a shortened runway and no markings; Pilots are naturally prone to err on the side of crossing the threshold lower than normal in order to preclude a long landing. This increases the risk of coming too close to the men and equipment. Has someone at the proper level assessed the risk of this operation? Do the supposed rewards of a higher landing traffic capacity at the airport really justify taking on this level of risk? I think active construction to the runway should only occur when the runway is closed to aircraft.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.