General Aviation Resources
Ensure Correct Runway Lineup
The Lincoln Airport has parallel runways oriented north-south and spaced 3,000 feet apart.
- Runway 18/36 (west side) is the longest at 12,901 x 200 feet.
- Runway 17/35 (east side) is 5,800 x 100 feet.
- Runway 14/32 (crosswind, center of airport) measures 8,640 x 100 feet.
Pilots should verify runway alignment, as Runway 17/35 is the shorter parallel runway 3,000 feet east of 18/36. Runway details are available in the North Central U.S. Chart Supplement and on ATIS (118.05).
Ensure Correct Runway Lineup at Lincoln Airport
Events in which in aircraft lands or departs on the wrong runway or a taxiway tend to be the highest-profile and most dangerous events in aviation can be attributed with two fundamentals:
- Flight Crew and ATC Procedures: Loss of Situational Awareness, specifically positional awareness, sometimes but not always aided by complacency, is the most common reason for wrong runway use.
- Airport Design: It is important to recognize that some airports are designed in such a way that the possibility of incorrect use of runways is heightened by identifiable ‘opportunities for error’.
What Pilots Can Do
- Familiarize yourself with the airport to the maximum extent possible by reviewing pictures, maps, diagrams of the airport design, and listen to ATIS (118.05).
- Be familiar with the primary arrival runway.
- Make sure that ATC instructions and clearances are clearly heard and understood. Make sure you give a proper read-back, if unsure, ask ATC to repeat instructions or clearance again and don’t hesitate to ask questions about anything you feel requires clarification.
- Confirm that you have correctly identified the destination airport before reporting the airport/runway insight, especially at night or when weather or environmental conditions might make precise identification more difficult.
Remember to LOOK, LISTEN, and FOCUS – the actions YOU take not only affect your safety, but also the safety of OTHERS.
From the Flight Deck
General aviation (GA) pilots are responsible for most runway safety incidents, often due to a lack of awareness of local runway and taxiway configurations. To address this, the FAA created the “From the Flight Deck” YouTube series to help reduce wrong surface incidents and runway incursions. Lincoln Airport is featured in the initial rollout of the series. Tune in here.
