Emergency Net Barricade for runway 14L


Message posted by Nelson on January 08, 2009 at 11:09:07 PST:

Hello again,
I did some research on the emergency arresting system in place on the overrun area south of the threshold for runway 32R, it turned out to be fascinating. I put an explanation and some pictures on my website under the heading of "Emergency Net Barricade Arresting System at Groom Lake," I put the URL here. Webmaster, you guys are more than welcome to copy and put them on your Info and Photos site in case you're interested. I've heard of such systems on aircraft carriers, of course, but the whole thing about net arresting systems being used on land airports was news to me, I'm sure it would be news to other people as well.
By the way, there's no way to tell from the photos I've seen so far, but it's very likely that the overrun pavement is made of a concrete that's engineered to crush under the landing gear of an aircraft, further slowing and stopping it. So actually there are probably three separate emergency systems in place to stop a runaway aircraft landing or taking off on 14L. First there are the pop up cables stretched across the runway, of curse, those can only be used by an aircraft equipped with a taihook. Then there's the net arresting system, and finally the friable concrete overrun area. Of course, when landing or taking off in the other direction, on 32R, they have the entire salt lake as an overrun area. But there's a problem with the salt, after the slightest rain that surface is like greased glass, after a drenching rain the salt turns to a thick soft mud.
Anyway, it's been an educational experience doing this research, I love surprises, and that whole barricade system was a big surprise to me.

Attached link: http://home.comcast.net/~nelsonlstone/site/

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