US FAA acting administrator Bobby Sturgell says the agency and industry will review runway safety issues at 22 additional airports over the next four months, complementing the 20 airports that have been reviewed since August as part of the agency’s runway safety “call to action”.
Eighteen of the 20 airports already reviewed were commercial service airports, none of which have recorded a serious runway incursion this fiscal year, says US FAA acting administrator Bobby Sturgell.
The FAA defines serious incursions - Category A and Category B incursions - as those in which a collision is “narrowly avoided” or in which separation decreases and there is “a significant potential for collision”.
While the year is far from over, Sturgell notes that eight of the 24 serious incursions recorded last year took place at those 18 airports.
Interventions at those airports ranged from upgrading taxi lines to changing signage to reviewing air traffic controller clearances and pilot training.
New airports for review include Seattle-Tacoma, Chicago Midway, New York LaGuardia and Teterboro, a business aviation hub near New York City.
Eight of the airports are on the east coast of the US, says Sturgell, the region that recorded two-thirds of all serious incursions last year.
Other initiatives Sturgell and FAA officials discussed at a runway safety update in Washington DC today included efforts to deploy low-cost airport surveillance systems and runway status lights, systems which can alert pilots to stop on a taxiway if the adjacent runway is occupied.
Sturgell also announced that the FAA will hold a “fatigue symposium” on June 17, 18, 19 in Washington DC to discuss “the latest scientific evidence and best practices” related to fatigue management.
Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: FlightGlobal.com
