Pocono News Section

A major runway upgrade provides additional safety at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport!

A major runway upgrade provides additional safety at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport! - Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 12:17PM EST

Reported by: David DeCosmo WYOU TV News
Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 @ 12:17pm EST
AVOCA, LUZERNE COUNTY

Construction teams at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport have completed a runway upgrade that will provide additional safety for airplanes landing at the facility.

The "Engineered Material Arresting System", or EMAS, is an emergency system which uses low impack blocks at the end of the regular runway. Should an aircraft overshoot the standard runway lenght and roll onto the safety area, the blocks will give way and the plane would decelerate. Airport officials say the zone is designed to stop the plane from going over an embankment at the end of the runway. It's also designed to minimize the potential for passenger injury and aircraft damage.

The EMAS has been constructed at the northern end of the airport's main runway. The airport's board of director's has given approval for a contract to add the system to the southern end of the same runway.