What is EMAS?

Closeup of EMAS. Post-arrestment
(Courtesy of Port Authority of NY and NJ) Our Engineered Material Arresting System provides enhanced runway overrun safety for commercial airports. ESCO's EMAS is composed of a bed of customized cellular cement material, designed to crush under the weight of an aircraft, thus providing predictable, controlled deceleration. Once stopped, EMAS's unique material allows passengers and crewmembers to exit the aircraft safely and for the aircraft to be removed from the arresting system easily, with minimal effects. Each EMAS application is engineered and customized in length, depth and strength to provide optimum performance for the aircraft mix at each location.

Working with the Federal Aviation Administration, ESCO developed EMAS to meet the requirements of the FAA Advisory Circular AC-150/5220-22A "Engineered Materials Arresting System" for aircraft overruns. EMAS was launched in 1996 after numerous real-time aircraft tests. Today, a growing number of commercial airports throughout the US have added the benefits of EMAS to their runways.