PC airport paving bids are in

[Geo]

Chicago Midway handles 18 million passengers a year with a longest runway of 6500 feet that's actually limited 6000 feet of useage because of safety thresholds for the neighboring community.

And last December, Southwest Airlines had a jet skid off that runway just after landing. The plane went through the barrier and out onto the street killing a young boy who was riding in the car with his family- I believe his name was Joshua Woods. This really haunted me because I have driven down that street thousands of times having grown up on the South Side of Chicago. It also hit home because I have a son the same age as the boy...

It was the first fatality in the history of SWA...

Anyway, just thought I'd share...

Cheers, G

 

[Geo]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10396893/

Midway incident...

 

[Rambunkscious]

Chicago's Midway airport runway is too short to be safe. Longer runways are safer than short runways, this is a no brainer.

 

[beachmouse]

Long runways are safer, but when you're talking one incident in the past 30 years, during which time you probably conservatively had 300 million (average of 10 million/year is probably low when they'd hit 18 million by 2006) and probably 400 million plus passengers go through the airport during that time frame, I'd call Midway a very safe airport despite a relatively short runway situation.