An FAA study has revealed that the number of "severe" runway incursion incidents at U.S. airports is more or less constant from year to year, but minor incursion events are increasing at a rapid rate.
The findings come as part of a study of runway incursion trends at U.S. tower-controlled airports between 1997 and 2000 -- the FAA's first attempt to measure the relative severity of runway incursion incidents as a step toward addressing the issue.
"The good news is that approximately 80 percent of runway incursions are 'minor' incidents," said William Davis, director of the FAA's Runway Safety Program. "The bad news is that this category has suffered unacceptable increases during the four-year period we analyzed."
Runway incursions have been a top FAA priority for the past two years or so, a stance some say was triggered by a series of damning reports from the Transportation Department's investigative arm. On at least two occasions, the DOT cited the FAA for failing to meet its own incursion-reduction criteria.
The FAA based its most recent incursion work on a review of the 1,369 runway incursions reported over the past four years at the 459 U.S. airports with operating control towers. Of these airports, 162 reported no incursions at all, leading the investigators to question (as did the DOT) the agency's data collection methods.
Taken at face value, the report also refutes the popular perception that general aviation operators are involved in a disproportionate number of near-collisions. Most severe or "major" incursion incidents, the study determined, involved airliners at the 32 busiest hub airports.
Davis said the raw numbers can be misleading, however, since each airport faces unique challenges based on its layout, local procedures, geographical location and traffic mix. It stands to reason that many runway incursions, including the vast number involving the GA fleet at non-tower fields, go unreported.
The FAA has proposed a two-sided approach to dealing with the runway incursion problem. High-density airports require more "technical solutions," the agency said, while airports with lighter traffic stand to benefit more from improved communications and training.
Testifying before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in June, Davis specifically mentioned the need for Airport Surface Detection Equipment X (ASDE-X ), a ground radar system for air traffic controllers earmarked for deployment at the 25 busiest airports.
According to Davis, ASDE-X will become the "surveillance backbone" that enables a transition to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), a GPS-based collision-avoidance system now in limited use with several cargo airlines. Long-term funding for ADS-B remains up in the air, however. Paul Richfield
From August 2001 Business & Commercial Aviation magazine
http://www.aviationnow.com/content/publication/b_ca/briefing/br01.htm
Has anyone heard anything about this?
David Morrow (27Sep01, 12:00 GMT, 136 words)
Investigators are examining an incident at Mexico City International Airport
in which a DHL Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-8-70 freighter aborted take-off
at around 100kt (185km/hr) to avoid a taxying Boeing 777 and then slewed
off the side of the runway.
Mexican transport ministry officials have reportedly said that the second aircraft involved in the 25 September incident was a Paris-bound Air France Boeing 777 which was crossing the runway at the time. The incident reportedly took place at around 21:20.
The US FAA initial report on the incident says the DC-8, bound for DHL’s Cincinnati hub, aborted take-off at 100kt and suffered damage to its underside and the thrust-reversers on its CFM International CFM56 engines after leaving the runway. The aircraft, a 33-year old Series 70 model, is registered N806DH and owned outright by the cargo carrier.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
