NON FLYING RPTR HAS SUGGESTION TO REDUCE RWY EXCURSIONS BY INSTALLING A PRESSURE PLATE SYS INCLUDING RED AND GREEN LIGHTS AT INTXNS AND APCH END OF RWY TO WARN BOTH PLTS AND CTLRS THAT RWY IS OCCUPIED.

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I AM A SENIOR AVIATION MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR THE FAA AS WELL AS BEING AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST. I HAVE HAD 20 SOME YRS EXPERIENCE AS A NAVAL FLT SURGEON WITH TRANSPORT ACFT AND PLTS. I HAVE LONG ENJOYED YOUR PUBLICATION 'CALLBACK'. I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL AS A MATTER FOR AVIATION SAFETY. NOT KNOWING THE DETAILED INS AND OUTS OF THE FAA; I HAVE CHOSEN YOU AS A STARTING POINT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AS TO FURTHER EVALUATION. THE PAST SEVERAL YRS HAS SEEN A SOMEWHAT FRIGHTENING NUMBER OF ACFT ACCIDENTS OCCURRING WITH A COMMON THREAD OF 2 ACFT OCCUPYING A RWY AT THE SAME TIME. WHILE WAITING FOR A TFC LIGHT ONE DAY I BECAME AWARE OF THE METALLIC RECTANGLE IN THE PAVEMENT WHICH SENSED THE PRESENCE OF MY AUTOMOBILE AND SIGNALED THE TFC LIGHT TO CHANGE. MY THOUGHT WOULD BE TO INSTALL A MECHANISM OF THIS TYPE IN THE END 1000 FT OF A RWY. WERE THERE TO BE POINTS AT WHICH ACCESS MIGHT BE GAINED TO THE RWY FROM INTXNS; A SIMILAR TRACK WOULD BE PLACED ON THE RWY AT THIS LOCATION. WITH NO ACFT ON THE RWY; THINGS WOULD APPEAR AS THEY DO NOW. HOWEVER; AS AN ACFT TOOK AN ACTIVE RWY PRIOR TO DEP; THE SENSOR WOULD DETECT THE ACFT AND DO 2 THINGS. FIRST THERE WOULD BE RED LIGHTS AT THE APCH END WHICH A LNDG ACFT WOULD NOTE AND TAKE AS AN INDICATION FOR WAVE OFF. ALL INTXNS WOULD BE PROTECTED BY RED LIGHTS WHICH WOULD ILLUMINATE THEREBY ALERTING ANY ACFT ABOUT TO ENTER THE ACTIVE RWY AT AN INTXN OF THE DANGER. THERE WOULD BE A TIME DELAY OF SOME NUMBER OF SECONDS AFTER THE ACFT HAD LEFT THE RWY EITHER HAVING TAKEN OFF OR TURNED OFF AFTER LNDG ON A TAXIWAY; AFTER WHICH THE SYS WOULD REVERT TO A NORMAL STATUS. THIS SYS MIGHT BE LINKED TO THE TWR ON A RWY DIAGRAM BUT A CRITICAL AID WOULD BE AN AUDIO AND VISUAL ALARM SHOULD THE SYS AT ANY TIME SENSE 2 ACFT ON THE RWY AT THE SAME TIME. I HAVE HAD MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH COMMERCIAL AVIATION AS A FLT SURGEON AND HAVE ACQUIRED A MASTER'S DEGREE IN SAFETY FROM USC. HOWEVER; I AM NOT A PLT AND HAVE HAD NO EXPERIENCE WITH ARPT GND CTL. I AM MAKING A PRESUMPTION THAT SUCH SYS WOULD NOT BE TOO EXPENSIVE IF THEY CAN BE USED EXTENSIVELY ON URBAN STREETS FOR TFC CTL. I ALSO PRESUME THAT IT WOULD NOT DETRACT FROM THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF A RWY TO HAVE THIS STRIP INSTALLED. THIS WOULD BE A SUPPLEMENT TO GND RADAR AND HELP BACK UP A FAILURE OF THE HUMAN LINK IN THE SYS. I THINK WE ALL NEED TO LISTEN HUMBLY TO THE GREAT DR. X WHO SAYS THAT IF A SITUATION CAN HAPPEN ONCE; IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN. THAT MAKES IT RATHER EASY TO SAY THAT IF IT HAS HAPPENED 3 OR 4 TIMES THAT I CAN THINK OF OFF HAND; IT IS VERY LIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN. I WOULD MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR CONSIDERED OPINION OF THIS IDEA. I WOULD APPRECIATE SOME SORT OF INFORMAL FOLLOW-UP. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: ANALYST CALLED RPTR AND THANKED HIM FOR RPT AND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PUT HIS THOUGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS DOWN ON PAPER. STATED THAT WE WOULD DISCUSS HIS SUGGESTION WITH THE OTHER ANALYST AND SEE WHERE WE WANT TO GO WITH IT.