"DFW airport sets record for avoiding close calls"

Wednesday, May 29, 2002

DFW airport sets record for avoiding close calls
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


DALLAS -- Air traffic controllers say renewed vigilance and a strong
education push helped the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport avoid
close calls on its runways for almost nine months, a record for the
airport. 

National aviation officials had singled out DFW in 2001 for being the
site of the two worst close calls between planes. 

"It has never happened in recent history that we have gone this length
of time without a pilot error or a controller error," said Mark Mulder,
president of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the National Air Traffic
Controllers Association. 

A drop in air traffic since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks also is a
factor in the drop in near-misses, which are officially called
incursions. 

Still, they remain high on the list of concerns among national aviation
safety officials. 

The number of incursions fell from 431 nationwide in 2000 to 381 last
year, but the overall trend since 1993 has been increasing. 

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board reaffirmed that
reducing incursions at airports nationwide must be a top priority. 

"The potential for a catastrophic accident . . . continues to exist,"
said John Clark, director of the board's Office of Aviation Safety in
Washington. 

The two major close calls at DFW were among five that occurred
nationwide in 2001. 

In the first, a Chicago-bound American Airlines jet and a cargo plane
came within 20 feet of colliding May 11. 

The American Airlines jet, carrying 56 passengers, had to take off
before reaching its usual liftoff speed to avoid the cargo plane. 

That aircraft's pilot had become disoriented and strayed onto the runway
being used by the jet, officials said. 

In the second incursion, on Aug. 16, officials said a west tower
controller gave pilots of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 and a taxiing
Continental Airlines 737 permission to be on the same runway. 

They came within 50 feet of colliding. 

About 1,800 runway and taxiway crossings occur each day at DFW, plus
2,400 takeoffs and landings. 

After those incidents, airport officials began increasing efforts to
make sure all navigational aids -- runway markings and lights -- were
clearly visible. 

Other changes include some wider runways and more annual training for
people who drive on airport ramps. 

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to install and test two new
technology devices at the airport this summer. The devices, called the
Airport Movement Area Safety System, help controllers predict impending
collisions. 

They are already deployed at 19 U.S. airports.


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