This Technology Just Saved The Life Of A US Vice Presidential Candidate

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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.

 

 

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.

 

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: A TWA aircraft flies over the newly-installed Foam Arrestor bed at the end of runway 4R-22L at John F. Kennedy International airport in New York 25 November. Designed to stop a large aircraft travelling at 75 knots, the bed is comprised of about 2,000 aerated cellular cement blocks. Total cost of design, construction and installation of the Foam Arrestor is 2.6 million USD. (Photo credit should read JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images)
Image Source: Jon Levy/AFP/Getty Images

 

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.

 

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Image Source: Twitter

 

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.

 

 

We hope that some sort of EMAS technology helps him stop skidding when the Trump’s campaign ends on the Election Day.

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