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IN THE U.S., RISK IS HIGH FOR 'CATASTROPHIC' RUNWAY CRASH
Risk is high for 'catastrophic' runway crash, report warns
Story Highlights o NEW: FAA says serious runway incidents have decreased by 25 percent o Congressional investigators report no single office addressing runway safety issue o Number of dangerous runway incidents spiked in FY 2007, GAO report says o Report also cites traffic controllers' fatigue, routine six-day work weeks CNN Wednesday, December 5, 2007 Washington (AP) - Air travelers face a high risk of a catastrophic collision on a U.S. airport runway, congressional investigators concluded Wednesday. Jets line up to take off at Los Angeles International Airport. They cited faltering federal leadership, malfunctioning technology and overworked traffic controllers as reasons for the danger. The investigators gave the Federal Aviation Administration credit for reducing runway safety incidents from a peak in 2001 but said "FAA's runway safety efforts subsequently waned" as the number of incidents settled at a lower level. Then in fiscal 2007, which ended September 30, the incidents spiked to 370, or 6.05 runway incursions per 1 million air traffic control operations, almost returning to 2001's 407 incursions and 6.1 rate. An incursion is any aircraft, vehicle or person that goes where it shouldn't be in space reserved for takeoff or landing. At this time, "no single office is taking charge of assessing the causes of runway safety problems and taking the steps needed to address those problems," the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, said in a report requested by Rep. Jerry F. Costello, D-Illinois, and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-New Jersey. Then-Federal Aviation Administrator Marion Blakey stepped into that leadership void in August by calling an industrywide brainstorming conference to produce ideas for quick action. In October, the FAA reported progress on steps recommended by the August conclave, particularly in speeding improved runway markings and pilot training. The GAO report approved of those moves but also recommended more leadership from the FAA, improved data collection and a reduction in overtime required of traffic controllers. "This report makes clear that the Bush administration is cutting corners and failing to put passenger safety first," Lautenberg said. "The FAA is taking too many chances and ignoring too many red flags." Even though serious incursions, where a collision was narrowly averted, declined to a record low 24 in 2007 from 31 the year before, the report said they have remained high enough to pose "a high risk of a catastrophic runway collision." In response to the report, the FAA said it had reached its goal of reducing the most serious incursions by almost 25 percent in 2007. The agency said the overtime was a short- term issue that could be resolved through stepped-up hiring. Hiring is focusing on two dozen facilities with high overtime or six-day work weeks, according to the FAA, and a working group is studying whether scheduling changes could minimize fatigue. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said runway safety is a priority and the agency "is safely staffing all of its air traffic facilities." Costello, who chairs the House aviation subcommittee, said, "When there is great public attention and attention by the Congress, then the FAA acts. As soon as the attention goes away, the FAA reduces their attention." He and Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minnesota, the full committee chairman, urged quick approval of a House-passed FAA bill that would provide $42 million for incursion reduction and $72 million for runway lighting; require an FAA runway safety and technology plan; and force the FAA to reopen contract negotiations with controllers. The Bush administration opposes that provision. Since 1990, 63 people have died in six U.S. runway collisions. And the FAA's previous definition didn't classify some serious runway errors as incursions, including an August 27, 2006, crash in Lexington, Kentucky, of a Comair jet that took off from a too-short runway, killing 49. This year has seen dramatic near-collisions. On August 16, two commercial jets carrying 296 people came within 37 feet of colliding at Los Angeles International. A Delta Boeing 757 touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 11 and had to take off again immediately to avoid hitting a United Airbus A320 mistakenly on its runway. A Delta Boeing 737 landing at New York's LaGuardia airport on July 5 narrowly missed a commuter jet that was mistakenly cleared to cross its runway. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating those incidents as well as two others in Denver, Colorado, and one in San Francisco, California. Watch NTSB animation of two near-collisions on runways » The GAO seconded the transportation safety board's April recommendation that the FAA reduce mandatory overtime for controllers. Since the FAA imposed a contract on the controllers union in 2006, experienced controllers have retired much faster than the agency predicted. The FAA also cut controller staff to respond to traffic pattern changes from airline mergers and bankruptcies. The union says the cuts are too deep and reduce safety; the FAA says air travel has never been safer. The GAO said 52 percent of controllers at the nation's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, regularly work six-day weeks. Overall, between 20 percent and 52 percent of controllers at 25 FAA facilities, including seven of the 50 busiest towers, are on six-day weeks. Nevertheless, "agency officials indicated that they had no plan to mitigate the effects of air traffic controller fatigue," the GAO said. Citing the safety board and GAO concerns about fatigue, National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Patrick Forrey asked, "How much more do we have to hear before the FAA is held accountable for the blatant disregard for safety it is showing by understaffing its facilities, working controllers past their breaking points and refusing to work with us to settle an ongoing contract negotiating impasse that has created the largest mass exodus of both veteran controllers and trainees we have seen since 1981?" The GAO found that radar the FAA installed at 34 of the busiest airports to monitor aircraft on the ground doesn't work well when needed most -- during heavy rain or snow. FAA's more advanced ground-control radar, operational at only eight airports, issues false alerts of impending collisions -- 41 from June 7, 2006, to May 16, 2007, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. FAA's Office of Runway Safety hasn't produced a national runway safety plan since 2002, went two years without a permanent director and had a 45 percent staff cut over the past four years, the GAO found. Arguing for more and better data, the GAO urged the FAA to finish a three-year-old effort to set up a no-fault system for controllers to report safety problems. Industry experts told the investigators FAA definitions were so subjective that they knew of incidents FAA classified "as being less severe than they actually were." Finally, the GAO urged the FAA to take over more responsibility from airports and airlines for safety in ramp areas, where planes park next to gates and 29 people have died between 2001 and 2006. Don't Miss NTSB: Near-collision videos show runway dangers More at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/12/05....ap/index.html Jai Maharaj http://tinyurl.com/24fq83 http://www.mantra.com/jai http://www.mantra.com/jyotish Om Shanti Hindu Holocaust Museum http://www.mantra.com/holocaust Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy http://www.hindu.org http://www.hindunet.org The truth about Islam and Muslims http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the poster. 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