There was no regulatory direction from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on how a damp runway was to be considered for aircraft landing performance.
The ATSB is satisfied that the revision to the Aeronautical Information Publication with the removal of the term 'damp' and subsequent incorporation into the 'wet runway' definition will reduce the risk of this safety issue.
In response to this safety issue, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority advised that the International Civil Aviation Organization has already harmonised its runway condition definitions across all relevant Annexes and Documents (Docs) for the pending implementation of a globally harmonised methodology for runway surface condition assessment and reporting. The new methodology is scheduled to become effective in 2020. The new definitions remove any reference to damp as a separate runway condition, and explicitly introduce ‘dampness’ under the ‘wet’ runway condition.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is committed to closely harmonising its regulations with the International Civil Aviation Organization. Considering the regulatory development process the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is currently undertaking, it is their preference to align the relevant runway condition definitions with International Civil Aviation Organization, and at which time they will consult industry accordingly.
The ATSB notes the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s recognition of the importance of harmonising runway condition definitions. The ATSB will monitor the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s progress and assess the safety issue on completion of changes made to the definitions.
Update 16 June 2021
In June 2021, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority advised that:
In Amendment No 106 to the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) dated 25 March 2021, guidance about reporting the presence of water and contamination on a runway was aligned with standards in ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] Annex 6 Part I (International Commercial Air Transport — Aeroplanes) and the requirements for take-offs and landings in Civil Aviation Order 20.7.1B. The result is that ‘DAMP’ is no longer reportable and the original condition is included within the classification of ‘WET’ runway.
