Landing a plane in rainy conditions is a tricky business. The vice presidential candidate, Mike Pence, got the scare of his life when the campaign plane of the Republican nominee skidded off the runway. Technology came to Pence’s rescue, and he landed safely at the LaGuardia Airport in New York City.
This was the Tarmac when we landed on the @mike_pence plane- torn up concrete pic.twitter.com/hEYodMkord
— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) October 28, 2016
The arrestor beds stopped the aircraft after it skidded and overshot the 7000-feet-long runway.
What is an Arrestor Bed?
You might be wondering what an arrestor bed is and why did no one hear of it before? An arrestor bed refers to a block of lightweight, cellular cement that is crushed under the weight of an aeroplane to stop it or to slow down a skidding aircraft.
The US authorities have installed the arrestor beds at around one hundred runway ends of more than sixty airports including the San Diego International Airport, Boston Logan, and the Chicago Midway. The statistics revealed that since their installation, the arrestor beds had prevented more than ten aircraft that skidded on the runway.
Earlier in 2016, FAA admitted that quite a few old US airports were not up to the mark as far as the safety codes are concerned. The new laws introduced by the FAA require 500-feet-wide airstrips extending 1000 feet beyond the runway end.
However, the older airports like LaGuardia couldn’t build the landing strips according to the new regulations. To counter this problem, FAA introduced engineered material arresting systems (EMAS), commonly called the arrestor beds, to slow down and stop a skidding aircraft safely.
Pence told the media that no one was injured in the accident. The Vice Presidential candidate tweeted to reassure his supporters that he will be back on the campaign trail soon.
So thankful everyone on our plane is safe. Grateful for our first responders & the concern & prayers of so many. Back on the trail tomorrow!
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) October 28, 2016
We hope that some sort of EMAS technology helps him stop skidding when the Trump’s campaign ends on the Election Day.
