(Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport via SWNS)
By Michael Lee Simpson
A plane overshot the runway while landing at a Virginia airport during heavy rain.
The commercial aircraft landed in the concrete safety zone at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport in Virginia on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
The advanced safety system prevented what could have been a catastrophic accident, airport officials said.
The incident occurred just before 10:00 p.m. EST during heavy rain conditions when a United flight landed beyond the runway and came to rest in the airport's engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS).
"The pilot shared on air traffic control that there were no injuries, but they were in the EMAS," said Alexa Briehl, 38, the airport's PR marketing and media manager and spokesperson in Roanoke.
The specialized safety technology, which consists of crushable concrete blocks, is designed to safely decelerate aircraft that overrun runways.
(Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport via SWNS)
"The EMAS system is crushable concrete,” Briehl said.
“When an aircraft rolls over it, it sinks in and decelerates the aircraft, and it's like a runway truck ramp at the end of a runway.”
"At the end of that runway, there's a ditch, there's a fence, a ditch, and then a main road called Peters Creek Road," Briehl added, explaining what the aircraft could have encountered without the safety system.
Airport emergency responders reached the scene within minutes of the incident.
"First responders were able to get to the site pretty swiftly within minutes to help get passengers and crew off the aircraft," Briehl said.
Passengers and crew members were evacuated using a ladder and transported by airport bus and emergency vehicles to the terminal, where they were held and communicated with law enforcement.
(Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport via SWNS)
Virginia State Police immediately responded to lead the investigation, working in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The EMAS system at Roanoke-Blacksburg proved crucial in preventing a potential tragedy.
"We are extremely fortunate that the technology was in place and no injuries or loss of life because the alternative would be devastating," Briehl said.
Roanoke-Blacksburg's EMAS was originally installed in 2004 and upgraded in 2024.
"After 20 years, usually it's the end of life. So we had really recently just upgraded it to the latest technology," Briehl said.
The aircraft remained at the scene for approximately 12 to 14 hours before being towed to a hangar.
The runway remains closed pending repairs to the EMAS system.