A series of near-miss incidents at U.S. airports prompts federal probe

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is opening an audit into runway incursion risks at the 45 busiest U.S. airports after a series of troubling near miss incidents.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said air-traffic controllers cleared an Alaska Airlines ALK.N jet last month to take off at Tennessee’s Nashville International Airport on the same runway where a Southwest Airlines LUV.N plane had been cleared to cross.

The runway incursion audit will include a risk profile for each airport, along with identifying potential gaps in procedures, equipment, and processes, and recommendations to improve safety and is expected to be concluded in early 2025.

The FAA Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service is conducting the review and the agency added it “is committed to identifying and mitigating risk at every level.”

Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents have raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air-traffic-control operations. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said last month the number of serious runway-incursion incidents had fallen by over 50 per cent.

1:46 Near miss between possible drone and airplane in Toronto

The FAA said in April it would install new surface-awareness technology at four airports including Nashville’s by July. The FAA previously declined to comment on whether the technology was operating.

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The runway study responds in part to recommendations made in November 2023 by an independent U.S. aviation review team that called for “urgent action” to boost safety after a series of close calls involving passenger jets, the FAA said.

President Joe Biden wants funding to hire 2,000 new controllers and several reports have warned of the safety impacts of shortages.

In June, the FAA again extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2025, citing air traffic controller staffing shortages.

In June, the NTSB found that incorrect assumptions by an air traffic controller led to a February 2023 near-collision between a FedEx plane FDX.N and a Southwest aircraft in Austin, Texas.

A government watchdog report said in June 2023 critical air traffic facilities face significant staffing challenges, posing risks to air traffic operations. At many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover shortages.

—Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Stephen Coates