"Fewer People, Vehicles Entering Runways"

Friday, August 1, 2003

Fewer People, Vehicles Entering Runways
By JONATHAN D. SALANT
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON -- The number of people, airport vehicles and airplanes entering
runways by mistake declined last year, the Federal Aviation Administration
said Thursday, crediting new technology and a campaign to increase awareness
of the problem.

The FAA reported 339 runway incursions between Oct. 1, 2001, and Sept. 30,
2002, a 17 percent decline from 407 during the previous 12 months.

The number of serious incidents, where a collision was avoided only because
a plane or vehicle quickly moved out of the way, was cut in half -- from 20
to 10 during the same 12-month period. None of the near-collisions involved
passenger jets.

Bill Davis, the FAA's director of runway safety, said the agency's ongoing
campaign to make pilots and other airport personnel aware of the problem is
finally being felt. "That takes a while for those types of campaigns to bear
fruit," Davis said.

In addition, some airports have improved runway markings and signs and have
adjusted operations to reduce the number of runway crossings, Davis said.

New technology, such as a system at major airports that uses existing radar
to warn air traffic controllers of potential collisions, is helping. The FAA
also is testing technology that uses runway sensors and lights to let pilots
know if the path is clear.

The FAA said most of the runway incursions involve small private planes
rather than large passenger jets. More than half of the planes in the sky
are general aviation aircraft.

While the number of airline flights remain below pre-Sept. 11, 2001, levels,
the rate of incursions has dropped as well. There were 5.2 incidents per
million takeoffs and landings from Oct. 1, 2001, to Sept. 30, 2002, compared
with 6.1 incidents per million operations during the preceding 12-month
period.

Stopping runway incursions has been a priority of the National
Transportation Safety Board, which took the unusual step in 2001 of asking
key lawmakers to urge the FAA to address the problem. In addition, the
Transportation Department inspector general, Kenneth Mead, has expressed
concern over the number of runway incidents.

"We hope that these numbers represent a permanent decline in near-collisions
at our nation's airports and are not merely the result of decreased air
traffic in 2002," NTSB Chairwoman Ellen Engleman said.

Some major accidents have been blamed on runway incursions. In March 1977,
582 people were killed when two Boeing 747s collided at the airport on
Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. And in October 2001, 118 people were
killed in Milan, Italy, after an SAS airliner collided with a business jet
that had mistakenly entered the runway as the larger plane was taking off.

Los Angeles International Airport and North Las Vegas, Nev., Airport, which
is used for private planes, both had the largest number of incursions over
the last four years, 34 apiece. Another airport that primarily serves small
aircraft, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Executive Airport, had 33 incursions over
the last four years. Among major airports, St. Louis reported 29 and Phoenix
reported 28.

On the Net:

FAA runway safety: http://www.faarsp.org

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