Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 20115.3 AirportsThe large international airports have licensed professionals on their staff, and so probably willnot need to use the Safety Assessment Program to evaluate the airport‟s features for the safety ofcontinued operation. These airports also have a large volume of tightly scheduled aircraftcoming and going from them, so time will be of the essence for them to reopen what can be.SAP evaluators will be most likely used to evaluate the relatively smaller general aviationairports located in the affected communities. These could become key facilities for movingresources into the disaster theater, and for staging areas for aid to the afflicted region.Photo courtesy Denali CollectionFigure 5-9 – Airport runway with lateral spreading, 2008 Denali Earthquake, AlaskaPlease note in Figure 5-9 the man standing in the large crack. This is another unsafe activity thatno SAP evaluator should ever do!In addition to the earthquake damage to buildings discussed previously, damage can occur to allof the other systems and facilities found in an airport. Liquefaction and/or settlement haveoccurred to runways, rendering them unusable. Air traffic control towers have been damaged,including damage to the roof structures due to the poor support provided by the heavilywindowed walls. Emergency power also may not be operable due to damage to startup batteriesor to the panels that support the generator system.A copy of the two-page Airport Evaluator form can be found on the following pages.141