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If you have kids, you know how important (and hard) it is to explain them to cross roads at the zebra-crossing only. What has this to do with aviation ? It’s all about runway markings, kids, and Toulouse Airport…

Someone working for the french ATC told me this story a couple of years ago. A group of kids living east of Toulouse Blagnac airport (home of Airbus) had to walk daily to their school, west of the airport. A rather long walk so when they found a hole in the airport perimeter fence, they were quite happy.

After a couple of days, they got caught by the security service, and were severely sermoned by the guys in charge. To plead their cause, the kids told that they were really careful, and always crossed the runway at the zebra. If you’re a pilot you probably already got it, if not you’re may be a bit lost.

There are several markings on runways, to guide pilots. The centerline (where the nose-wheel is supposed to be…), the touch-down zone (where the main wheels should normally get in contact with the ground… softly), and the threshold (from where the runway is usable for landing).

The picture below shows the threshold of runway 32 Right in Toulouse - the one the kids were crossing. According to ICAO requirements, the threshold is materialized by a series of parallel markings across the runway. One must admit that it seriously looks like a Zebra crossing.

The hole in the fence got fixed, and the kids had to walk around again… For this time, the “I crossed at the zebra” excuse did not worked. Sorry kids.