Unparalleled insight into runway conditions using live data from landing aircraft.

Recommended by the FAA to help mitigate potential runway excursions

AST’s SafeLand™ Surface Management System provides airports, pilots, airlines, and regulatory bodies with objective data about runway conditions and available braking friction based on real-time data from landing aircraft.

Our Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) are the science-based methodology recommended by the U.S. FAA for measuring and reporting on the braking friction experienced by landing aircraft.  

ABARs deliver objective, real-time insight into runway conditions based on live data collected from sensors on the aircraft. The sensors allow measurement of the precise braking action of landing aircraft based on surface conditions and the impact of contaminants such as water, ice, or snow. These real-time reports can be made instantly available to incoming aircraft, ground personnel, airport operations, and authorities. Using this information, pilots can improve their landing decisions while airports can improve their surface management strategies.

The bottom line:

• Vital real-time data about landings, braking friction, deceleration , and runway conditions
• Better mitigation of potential runway excursions
• Enhanced passenger safety
• More efficient airside operations
• Higher runway uptime
• More reliable flight schedules

August 28, 2023: FAA confirms that data-based Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) are the preferred methodology to help mitigate potential runway excursions

In its August 28, 2023 Advisory Circular AC 91-79B, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that data-based Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) are the preferred methodology for measuring and reporting on the braking action of landing aircraft.

ABARs utilize real-time data from aircraft-based sensors about the actual braking friction that those planes experience when landing, especially on wet, icy, or contaminated runways. Data-based ABARs are in contrast to Pilot Braking Action Reports (PBARs), which are based on a pilot’s subjective experience and evaluation of a landing.

• When pilots of incoming aircraft have access to both ABARs (science) and PBARs (cockpit observations), they can make better informed landing decisions.
• When airport personnel are armed with this same deeper understanding of runway conditions, they can better manage runway maintenance, scheduling, and airside operations.

All stakeholders benefit from the addition of scientific landing data that is the most precise and accurate available.  Every landing is an opportunity for an ABAR to inform stakeholders – pilots on the next landing approach and airports seeking to optimize runway maintenance – with insight about braking action, deceleration, and runway friction conditions.

Complies with the ASTM International standard for runway braking measurement and reporting

The SafeLand™ system – today’s leading runway friction measuring and reporting platform delivering Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) – complies with the aircraft braking measurement standard released by ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials.

The ASTM International Standard E3266 for Friction-Limited Aircraft Braking Measurements and Reporting – published in November 2020 – applies to systems that measure and report on braking forces and runway friction. This standard applies to any automated system that uses data from an aircraft to create what ASTM International calls an Aircraft Braking Action Report (ABAR).

“With ASTM International Standard E3266, the aviation world now has a definitive international standard that provides objective measuring and quantifying of the actual landing risk on wet or contaminated runway surfaces experienced by commercial aircraft,” said Joe Vickers, CEO of AST. “This important advance brings significant safety benefits, improved operational efficiency, and better runway maintenance. It embodies the march of progress as we evolve from subjective assessments of runway conditions to objective, science-based measurements.”

New runway friction standard

How we do it

AST’s SafeLand™ leverages aircraft-based sensors to objectively measure, report, and manage braking action and surface conditions:

Aircraft-based sensors are used to measure braking action (deceleration) on landings. This real-time data provides pilots of incoming aircraft with vital science-based insight about actual braking friction – a helpful improvement over traditional subjective pilot assessments and imprecise cockpit-based observations.

Our methodology

Aircraft Braking Action Reports (ABARs) – shared instantly

We instantly package real-time landing data in ABARs and share this important insight with pilots of incoming aircraft, airport personnel, towers, and other key stakeholders such as ATOs, FAA, and CAAs.

• Approaching pilots have reliable reports about runway conditions measured in a superior, objective manner.
• Airline AOC and Airport Snow and Ice crews experience fewer random (subjective) fluctuations in condition reporting.
• Airport operations can more effectively utilize their resources to optimize the availability of all surfaces in and around the airpor.

It all adds up to better aviation, with safer landings, maximum runway usability, more reliable flight schedules, and a better customer experience for the millions who are counting on safe, reliable transportation.

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