Standardization News

ASTM International’s committee on vehicle-pavement systems (E17) has approved a new standard that for the first time provides a global template for industry terminology related to aircraft landing distance calculation methods and assessments.

“For the first time in history, terms such as ‘pilot braking action report’ will be formally defined,” says JohnGadzinski, president of Four Winds Aerospace Safety and chairman of the aircraft friction subcommittee. “While many of these terms have been in use for decades and are considered essential to commercial aircraft safety, this will be the first time their engineering principles and technical meanings will be precisely articulated.”

The new standard (soon to be published as E3188) includes 20 terms. Some terms, such as “aircraft braking report,” are being introduced to help increase accuracy in landing condition reports. 

Gadzinski notes that commercial pilots, airlines, airports, and air traffic controllers will all benefit from the new standard.

“This standard will be key in creating professional training programs for pilots so that they will be able to provide reports on braking conditions using a standardized set of principles,” says Gadzinski. “The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency, and the International Civil Aviation Organization could also benefit from the ability to refer to an industry-accepted standard on this key safety reporting metric.”

In addition to the new standard, the committee is also working on the development of a proposed standard for measurement and reporting on friction limited aircraft braking.

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