One quarter of air traffic lands on runways without adequate safety zones

The Houston Chronicle reported this week that eleven major airports do not provide adequate over-run space to comply with federal regulations.  Between 1997 and 2007, 75 aircraft over-ran or veered off runways and encroached into public areas, causing 12 deaths and almost 200 injuries.  The involved airports included Chicago's Midway Airport and others in the cities of Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington.  A six-year old was killed in the family car by a runaway aircraft at Midway in December of 2005:  he had been singing Christmas carols with his family.