Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 224; Flight Crew Total 16000; Flight Crew Type 5592
Other Unwanted Situation
General None Reported / Taken
Airport
The Broward County Aviation Department (BCAD) in conjunction with the FAA is currently building a sloped 8;000 foot runway [at FLL] that will be elevated to approximately 60 feet above grade level on the East end so as to allow clearance for US Highway 1 and the Florida East Coast (FEC) railroad to tunnel below it. Construction began in January of 2012. This radical design; which is unprecedented anywhere in the world; is fraught with numerous safety issues.Of particular concern is the safe and expeditious evacuation of passengers during an emergency on board an aircraft which is disabled in the EMAS [Engineered Materials Arresting System] bed on the far east end of the proposed new runway. An MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) retaining wall is proposed around the elevated portion of the new Runway 10/28 [which will replace existing Runway 9R/27L as well as an existing crossing runway] due to land use (EPA) constraints and [as well as to] significantly reduce the amount of fill that would otherwise be required to bring the runway up to the required elevation.The MSE wall will create a nearly vertical drop of 60 feet surrounding the runway safety (EMAS) area. For the safety of Airport and FAA personnel and any others that may be on the airfield; fall protection along the top of the MSE wall in the form of a parapet wall and railing is proposed. During an emergency evacuation--especially for an aircraft disabled in the elevated EMAS bed--passengers would have no viable means of escape due to the above cited MSE wall design. [Finally]; the current runway design would make it practically impossible for emergency ARFF vehicles and personnel to have unfettered access to a disabled aircraft from any direction other than directly down the runway as the sides would be inaccessible due to the MSE walls surrounding the other three sides.
An air carrier Captain expressed concern about the adequacy of the elevated portions of the new Runway 10/28 at FLL to allow passenger evacuation and emergency equipment access to an aircraft disabled or under duress in the area surrounding the EMAS just beyond the departure threshold of Runway 28.