I know I go on about runway excursions a lot, and I will be bringing it to a crescendo on 9/10 December when I run the IATA/Eurocontrol workshop in Brussels, but they make up such a large proportion of incidents and accidents that they can't be ignored. So why do some runway excursions end with a flaming wreck and others, like the 737-800 at Newcastle 2 days ago (http://avherald.com/h?article=433e06f5&opt=0), just about make the late editions as a non-event? Well leaving the runway only hurts if you hit something hard before you stop. Newcastle runway 07 has an adequate runway end safety area (RESA) and the aircraft came to an uneventful stop on it; no-one hurt, no damage...
ICAO have clear guidelines on RESAs - Annex 14 sets 90 metres as the minimum standard and recommends 240 metres. If that isn't possible then airports should give consideration to engineered materials arrestor systems (EMAS). Neither of these will stop overruns happening (that's mostly down to the pilots in the end) but they can make the difference between catastrophe and inconvenience!
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