Past the runway end

Some runways have extra pavement past their ends. Salinas has three of these areas. Runway 8-26 has one at each end. Both labels say 300 X 150. At the Runway 13 end, the label says 200 X 150. The numbers are length and width in feet.

The diagram draws these areas plain gray. The legend uses plain gray for taxiways and parking areas. At Salinas, these areas are plain pavement. They are not part of a runway, so they do not count in the runway length. Pilots at Salinas do not use them for takeoff, landing, or taxi.

Other airports mark this kind of area as a stopway, an overrun, or a blast pad. The legend shows them with chevrons. A blast pad protects the ground from jet blast and propeller wash. A stopway gives an airplane room to stop after an aborted takeoff.

At Oakland, the diagram shows chevrons at both ends of Runway 12-30. On the ground, yellow chevrons paint these areas. Do not land, take off, or taxi on them. The AIM says these areas are unusable for all three.

Some airports also have EMAS past the runway end. It is a bed of crushable material. It stops an airplane that runs off the end. The AIM says it is designed to crush under the weight of commercial aircraft. Monterey has EMAS at both ends of Runway 10R-28L.

EMAS is marked with yellow chevrons too. Keep off it, the same as a blast pad. Before you fly to a new airport, look past each runway end. Know which pavement you may use, and which you may not. Next, how much weight a runway can hold.