C-17 Tow Supervisor And Brake Operator Pre-Test Practice

Maintaining a safe buffer around an active runway is essential for ground operations. When you’re not on an established taxiway, you should keep at least 100 feet from the edge of an active runway. This gap helps protect against jet blast and prop wash, reduces the chance of debris reaching your aircraft, and provides room for aircraft that may be accelerating, decelerating, or turning in or out of the runway area. It also gives pilots better visibility and separation from runway activity. If you’re taxiing on an established taxiway, you’re on a defined route with predictable paths, so the strict 100-foot buffer to the runway edge isn’t necessary in the same way while still maintaining safe clearance from the runway operations. Smaller distances don’t give enough room to account for jet blast, debris, or unexpected movements near an active runway, which is why 100 feet is the appropriate minimum.