Plain English Meaning
A runway incursion that wasn't really close to causing a crash. Something went wrong on or near the runway, but there was plenty of room or time for everyone to react safely.
Full Definition
In the context of runway incursions, Category C is a classification used by the FAA to describe an incident in which there was ample time and/or distance to avoid a collision. It represents a less severe runway incursion than Categories A or B, where collision risk was imminent or significant.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA runway incursion discussions and safety reports, where events are grouped by how close they came to causing a collision.
Why Pilots Care
Determines required runway length, circling radii, and published minima for safe landings.
Grounding Statement
Picture an aircraft entering a runway when it should not, but the other aircraft is still far enough away that stopping or delaying takeoff avoids danger.
Intuition Check
Do not read Category C here as an aircraft approach category. In runway incursion reporting, Category C is a severity level: there was enough time or distance to avoid a collision.
Example Sentence 1
The tower logged the event as a Category C runway incursion because the aircraft crossed the hold line while the arriving traffic was still several miles out on final.
Example Sentence 2
Runway length calculations for Category C aircraft include extra margin for the higher approach speeds.