Runway Indication Module

Runway Indication Module 

The Runway Indication Module (RIM) is part of the Runway Incident Location feature. This feature  provides the air traffic controllers with the ability to instantly relay the runway location of an incident  and the alert category of the incident to the ARFF personnel in the fire station. The feature includes a  Physical Push Button box for the Alert III product and a display panel. For the ConsortAlert product it  includes the RIM display panel as well as a small kiosk mode tablet with a Runway designation soft  button user interface page that contains the runway locations as buttons that are color coded to  indicate whether it is an Alert 1, 2 or 3 category incident. The RIM display panel is typically mounted  near the bay door exit in the ARFF fire station.

All runways at airports are numbered based on the magnetic azimuth (compass bearing) in which a runway is oriented. Runway numbers are determined by rounding the compass bearing of one runway end to the nearest 10 degrees and truncating the last digit. As there are 360 degrees on a compass rose, the runways are numbered from 1 to 36. The diagram below shows the compass rose with the runway orientation overlayed.

Runway 9-27 is oriented east-west. It needs to be noted that the runway number is connected to the  direction the plane is traveling. So, for example, if a plane is taking off from runway 36 it is headed due  north. If there are parallel runways an “L” or an “R” will be appended to the number to indicate the  relative position (left or right) they are to each other from the approaching or landing direction. 

Aircraft emergencies are broken down into three categories: Alert 1, Alert 2 and Alert 3. These  categories are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide standard descriptions  and terminology for aircraft emergencies and they are defined as follows; 

Alert 1: Indicates an aircraft is having minor difficulties (i.e., minor oil leak; one engine out on a three or  four-engine commercial aircraft or one engine out on a two-engine general aviation aircraft; fire warning  lights; etc.). A safe landing is expected. 

Alert 2: Indicates that an aircraft is having major difficulties (i.e., a positive indication of fire on board  the aircraft; faulty landing gear; no hydraulic pressure; engine failure on a two-engine large aircraft;  etc.). A difficult or crash landing may be expected. 

Alert 3: Indicates that an aircraft has crashed on or off the airport, or there is a high probability the  aircraft will crash, or the pilot has indicated that the aircraft landing gear will not work and, therefore,  the pilot will have to crash land on the airport. 

The Alert category is not only used to indicate who and what vehicles will respond to the incident but  also the ARFF staging locations along the runway that they need to be at.  

As one can understand the runway location and Alert category information is critical to the accuracy and speed of the response team. Displaying this information on a RIM display panel for each incident isextremely valuable for the ARFF personnel especially when the noise of overhead airplanes, bay doors opening and fire trucks firing up drowns out the PA system. A visual display of this information at the exit of the fire station ensures timely and accurate responses.