The city of Santa Monica, Calif., is proposing to shorten the airport’s runway to accommodate installation of a 250-foot engineered material arresting system (EMAS) at the west end of Runway 3/21. The proposal would also use “declared distances” to obtain safety areas that are not available without shortening the runway. NBAA said the FAA’s Office of Airport Safety and Standards is reviewing the city’s proposal and is seeking input from NBAA operating members who use the airport.

The EMAS and declared distances would reduce the runway length from the current 4,987 feet to 4,741 feet landing distance available for Runway 21, the most used runway, and 4,156 feet landing distance available for Runway 3. Pilots should note, the FAA explained, “Declared distances for takeoff and landing are not provided on airport diagrams. Stored runway data in the FMS NAV database does not include declared distances.”