Pilots Group Lobbies for Runway Extensions to Boost Safety

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Pilots group calls for runway extensions to boost airport safety
The Associated Press

Published: June 6, 2008

BRUSSELS, Belgium: An international pilots group said Friday that the crash of an Airbus jet at the international airport in Honduras demonstrated the urgent need for longer safety strips at the end of runways to prevent routine overruns from turning into tragedies.

Five people died and 65 were injured on May 30 when the A320 belonging to Grupo Taca skidded off the end of the runway at Toncontin International Airport.

The cause of the accident is still being investigated, but the London-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations said it "deplores the fact that it remains possible for an airport serving a major city to be noncompliant with internationally agreed minimum standards for runway end safety areas." [Full Article]

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