ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Following a fatal cargo jet crash in Miami, investigators are looking into a specialized runway safety technology that saved dozens of lives in Roanoke just one year ago.
Sunday, Sept. 6, an Amazon cargo jet overshot a runway in Miami by 1,300 feet, crashing into an airport cleaning van and killing five people. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating whether a critical safety buffer known as an Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) could have prevented the tragedy.
EMAS is a specialized concrete bed designed to quickly and safely stop aircraft that overshoot runways. Just one year ago, that exact technology stopped a plane at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, saving 53 people on board from speeding onto Peters Creek Road. Roanoke first installed the multimillion-dollar system in 2004 because it lacked the space for a standard runway safety area…