Westchester County Airport Bomb Blast Analysis

Westchester County Airport

The objective of this project was to assist Westchester County Airport in addressing security requirements mandated by the Transportation Security Administration, specifically the Explosive Blast Analysis of the “Bomb Incident Prevention Plan” (BIPP) Standard Operating Procedures. The measures issued by the TSA are intended to minimize the risk of structural damage and collapse in terminal buildings, reduce extended disruption of aviation operations, and diminish casualties caused by the detonation of an explosive device hidden in a vehicle. Category X, 1, and 2 airports are required to develop a BIPP, which includes a blast analysis to estimate the vulnerability and hazards from the specified explosive threat sizes on roadways, and parking around the terminal. A set of likely threat scenarios was developed for the existing conditions based on the site layout and on-site survey. A cursory structural assessment was performed using historical data, along with the available structural information from the drawings provided by the airport. The threat sizes used in this assessment are the threat sizes specified by the TSA. Blast envelopes were developed for each of the threat sizes, and structural upgrade option were considered to reduce the risk of human casualties.