All aviation fans know Concorde as a groundbreaking aircraft, but few of them know that once, the Concorde took this name literally! Disney's double Concorde demonstration in October 1982 thrilled crowds but also stressed Orlando's pavements, a reminder that jet blast and thermal loads can cause serious disruptions to airport infrastructure; at least another similar case occurred several years later, when a DeHavilland Vampire ripped up the tarmac.
Beyond the headlines, runway damage is an engineering problem driven by mechanical jet blast, thermal loading and pavement construction. Understanding the physics, the failure modes, and the mitigation options turns a viral video into actionable safety and asset-management lessons for airports of every size.
When Show Meets Infrastructure Limits
The story of Disney's double Concorde arrival at Orlando International Airport (MCO) is an aviation parable.
What was staged as a perfect PR moment ended up exposing how aircraft exhaust and heat can damage runways and aprons. On October 18, 1982, two Concorde SSTs from British Airways and Air France executed a near-simultaneous parallel landing at Orlando International Airport to commemorate the opening of the British and French pavilions at Epcot. Tens of thousands of spectators watched as both aircraft touched down nearly side-by-side on parallel runways, an image designed for front pages and highlight reels.
But the show came at a price. During the subsequent high-power departures, the aircraft's Rolls-Royce Olympus 593 engines, among the hottest and most concentrated exhaust sources ever installed on a civil airliner, directed intense thermal and mechanical loads into specific pavement zones. Concorde's low engine placement and use of reheat meant jet blast interacted directly with the pavement at high temperature and velocity. Reports from the time and later analysis indicate that the surface experienced scorching, softening and local damage requiring inspections and repairs.
Technically, Concorde's engines produced high temperature, high momentum exhaust concentrated close to the ground; when applied repeatedly or on pavement overlays not designed for such loads, binder softening, spalling and slab displacement can occur. Orlando's episode is a reminder that special operations require special pavement engineering and operational controls.
A Lightweight Jet Becomes A Heavy Load
In April 2017, a privately operated DeHavilland DH.100 Vampire T11, registration WZ507, at Halfpenny Green/Wolverhampton airfield, UK, dramatically demonstrated how even a relatively small aircraft can exceed pavement capacity.
As the jet applied power for takeoff, video footage captured asphalt slabs being dramatically torn off the runway during a takeoffroll.
The incident underlines that even light jets can damage weak or thin pavements when engines are run at high power on surfaces not designed for them.
This case is illustrative because the Vampire's configuration and the runway's condition created a perfect storm:
* an older asphalt surface, likely already fatigued;
* a short landing gear, with exhaust directed close to the pavement due to the double tail boom, below the horizontal tailplane;
* a high-power takeoff typical of airshow demonstration flying.
This made the surface vulnerable to delamination between different asphalt layers. The remedy is straightforward: pre-event pavement assessment, blast-resistant mats or plates, and strict engine power limits on sensitive surfaces.
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Posts 1 By Peter Hanson Feb 16, 2025 Domodedovo's Heatwave Sink And The Navegantes Runway Tear: A Dual Warning for Airports
Russia offers a related but distinct example that reinforces the role of thermal loading in pavement failures. On July 29, 2014, during a heatwave in Moscow Domodedovo Airport(DME), the asphalt on the parking apron softened enough that an airliner's main gear sank deeply into the pavement.
Multiple eyewitness accounts and short news items described an S7 AirlinesBoeing 737 that became stuck at Domodedovo after its main landing gear sank roughly 3.9-5.9 inches (10-15 centimeters) into softened tarmac during an intense summer heatwave. Reports say the aircraft was due to operate to Novosibirsk, was delayed for several hours while ground crews dealt with the situation, and passengers were affected by the disruption.
No jet blast was required: ambient temperatures alone raised the binder temperature beyond its service limits, turning the surface into a visco-plastic material unable to resist bearing loads. This is a critical reminder that thermal degradation can be just as dangerous as mechanical jet-blast forces, especially at airports with high-traffic aprons, aging overlays, or binder mixes not designed for extreme heat.
In November 2023, a GOL Linhas AéreasBoeing 737-800 ready for a takeoff run at Navegantes Airport, in Brazil, ripped up significant sections of asphalt at the runway end. As the aircraft accelerated, slabs of pavement detached under the combined influence of the jet blast shear, the aircraft's weight, aging asphalt, and insufficient bond to the layer below. Pavement fragments struck the aircraft, leading to a rejected takeoff and a temporary airport closure.
This incident is particularly important because it involves a modern, mainstream airliner operating at a normal commercial airport. It highlights the fact that pavement deterioration, in the form of weakened overlays, oxidized binders, or poor construction joints, can make an otherwise adequate surface vulnerable to sudden failure under high-power thrust, even during a routine takeoff thrust setting.
In other words, runway age and maintenance standards matter just as much as aircraft type. Even routine operations can exceed the capacity of a weakened surface.
Why And How Runway Damage Happens: Physics & Pavement Mechanics
To understand the physics behind the aforementioned incidents, it helps to examine how aircraft interact with the ground beneath them. Jet aircraft impose a mix of mechanical and thermal stresses on pavement, and pavements respond according to their materials, construction quality, and age. When those forces exceed what the surface was designed, or currently able, to handle, failure becomes inevitable.
One of the primary drivers is jet blast, a high-velocity plume that produces intense shear forces and localized pressure drops as engines spool up. These flows can tug at the surface, lifting or peeling away poorly adhered layers and ejecting loose aggregate. While a new, healthy runway can tolerate this, older or oxidized asphalt, thin overlays, and surfaces with weak bonding between layers are vulnerable. The GOL 737-800 incident in Navegantes is a textbook example: the surface didn't fail because the aircraft was unusual, but because the pavement was already weakened, and the blast forces simply exploited that weakness.
Thermal loading is the second key mechanism and often the most underestimated. Jet exhaust can heat the surface rapidly, but, as we saw, ambient temperature alone can be enough. Asphalt binders soften noticeably once they reach roughly 122-140°F (50-60°C), at which point they lose the stiffness required to distribute aircraft loads.
If a jet parks or taxis on a surface that has softened, whether from exhaust or extreme weather, its wheels can sink into the viscoplastic layer. This is precisely what occurred at Domodedovo in 2014: a heatwave elevated surface temperatures to the point that the asphalt could no longer hold its shape under the static weight of a 737.
Parameter / Property
Typical Value / Range
Notes / Description
Performance Grade Binder Maximum Design Temperature
147 °F (64 °C)
It is the maximum pavement temperature the binder is designed to tolerate before significant softening. Example: PG 64-22 binder also specifies a minimum temperature of -8 °F (-22 °C) for cold-weather flexibility.
Jet Engine Exhaust Temperature (High-Bypass Turbofan)
750-1,300 °F (400-700 °C)
Temperature at the engine nozzle. Rapidly drops with distance from the exhaust, but can still heat pavement significantly.
Jet Plume Stagnation Temperature Rise at Pavement
+36-108 °F (+20-60 °C)
Measured near pavement under the exhaust plume; highly dependent on engine type, thrust, and distance.
Jet-Blast Wind Speed Behind Aircraft at Takeoff Thrust
37-149 mph (60-240 km/h) at 50-100 feet (15-30 meters) behind the aircraft.
Momentum and shear from high-velocity airflow can lift or delaminate weak pavement layers.
Jet Wake Pressure Perturbation at Pavement Surface
0.007-0.072 psi (0.05-0.5 kPa) typical; higher in focused zones
Localized suction/pressure pulses can contribute to slab lifting or peeling, especially on weak overlays.
Interlayer Shear / Adhesion Strength (Healthy vs. Weak)
29-145 psi (0.2-1.0 MPa) healthy; 15-44 psi (
Low adhesion allows blast forces to delaminate layers, as in Navegantes 2023.
Effective Load-Bearing Capacity Reduction at Elevated Temperature
30-60 % lower than the cool-condition design.
Explains gear sinking or rutting under static or slow-moving aircraft in extreme heat (Domodedovo 2014).
Neither mechanical nor thermal stresses act in isolation. Runway failures are typically the result of compounding factors: repeated high-power operations in the same location, water infiltration, surface oxidation, freeze-thaw cycles, subgrade weaknesses, or decades-old repairs. Over time, these degrade the pavement's ability to resist both load and heat. A single high-thrust takeoff, or even a day of extreme heat, can push the surface past its structural limits.
Last but not least, many airports, especially smaller ones or those built decades ago, simply lack pavements designed for the demands of today's jets. Their surfaces may not include high-temperature binders, sufficient structural depth, reinforced blast pads, or the subbase stiffness needed to absorb concentrated forces. When an aircraft arrives that exceeds these design assumptions, even during ordinary operations, the pavement can fail dramatically.
In general, runway damage is rarely mysterious. It follows the physics of heat, pressure, and material science. What varies is whether the pavement has the strength, and the maintenance history, to withstand what modern aircraft demand of it.
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Posts By Vyte Klisauskaite Dec 19, 2024 Preventing Runway Damage
The Domodedovo and Navegantes incidents highlight a key lesson: runway operations are a systematic problem. Airports and operators must integrate aircraft performance, pavement engineering, operational procedures, and risk management.
High-profile or high-thrust operations, like the Disney Concorde event in 1982, create concentrated mechanical and thermal loads. Before allowing unusual aircraft on a surface, a pre-event assessment is essential: check structural integrity, binder condition, subgrade strength, drainage, and prior stress history to identify vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies range from temporary surface reinforcement to operational controls. High-risk zones can be protected with blast-resistant mats, steel plates, or sacrificial overlays along anticipated exhaust paths. Operational limits such as reduced-power taxiing, staggered arrivals, and avoidance of afterburner or hot-start operations reduce mechanical and thermal load on the pavement.
Contracts should assign responsibility for potential damage, require proof of insurance, and require pre-event pavement certification from visiting operators. The Disneyland Concorde event, while visually spectacular, demonstrates what happens when these factors are underestimated: impressive PR stunts can translate into costly repairs.
Ensuring Resilient Runways For The Future
Airports and operators that adopt a systems-thinking approach can transform potentially risky operations into safe, memorable events. This means combining robust pavement design, careful assessment of thermal and mechanical stresses, and operational planning that accounts for aircraft type, thrust, environmental conditions, and traffic patterns.
Temporary reinforcements, operational restrictions, and careful scheduling are essential enablers for high-profile arrivals or special events without damaging infrastructure.
Investing in long-term resilience pays dividends. Regular monitoring of pavement performance, targeted resurfacing, use of heat-resistant binders, and reinforced subgrades ensure that runways remain functional under both routine and extraordinary operations. Coordinating these measures with pilots, ground crews, and visiting operators creates a culture where safety, spectacle, and infrastructure longevity coexist.
Ultimately, understanding the invisible forces beneath each aircraft wheel, whether from a Concorde, a Boeing 737 taxiing in extreme heat, or a warbird accelerating for takeoff, ensures that the excitement in the air does not come at the expense of the ground. When physics, engineering, and operational foresight are respected together, airports can host remarkable aviation moments without compromise.