Dec 5, 2007 8:34 pm US/Eastern
GAO Report: Sky May Be Safer Than Runway
Risk Of Catastrophic Taxiing Collisions On The Rise
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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A Continental jet once landed on a taxiway, seen here to the right of one of the main runways at Newark Liberty International Airport.
CBS
Many people are afraid of flying. A new Congressional report implies it makes more sense to be afraid of taxiing.
The report out Wednesday says the risk of airport runway collisions is on the rise.
The study by the Government Accountability Office says there is a high risk of a catastrophic runway collision in this country, like a recent near-miss in San Francisco.
Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., was one of three congressmen who requested the report.
"It shows the FAA is failing to provide adequate levels of safety on our runways, throughout our airports," Lautenberg said.
The number of these so-called runway incursions reached a peak back in 2001 with 407. After that, the FAA stepped in and the measures they took worked as those numbers went down. But the report says the FAA has since taken their eye off the ball, and this year there were 370 incidents, where airplanes on the ground were where they weren't supposed to be.
Two commercial jets carrying 296 people came within 37 feet of each other in Los Angeles earlier this year.
In Florida, a large jet touched down but had to take off quickly to avoid another airliner on its runway.
And while landing this summer at LaGuardia, a Boeing 737 nearly crashed into a commuter jet crossing its runway.
"This GAO report makes it clear that the Bush administration is letting us down," Lautenberg said. "The FAA has let us down."
The report blames inferior technology, like ground radar that doesn't work well in rain or snow, and overworked air traffic controllers, most of whom work six-day weeks. The GAO says there is no single government office taking the lead on solving this safety crisis, and urges the FAA to take more responsibility for making the runways, not just the airways, safer.
The report says part of the problem is that many experienced air traffic controllers have retired early.
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