Runway Conflicts, Excursions Plague FAA, Regionals

The FAA investigated three runway incidents involving regional aircraft recently, on the heels of the recent General Accountability Office report that passengers face "a high risk of catastrophic runway collision" because of FAA's inattention to the problem, technical glitches with advanced safety...

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The FAA investigated three runway incidents involving regional aircraft recently, on the heels of the recent General Accountability Office report that passengers face "a high risk of catastrophic runway collision" because of FAA's inattention to the problem, technical glitches with advanced safety equipment and an overworked air traffic controller workforce. Meanwhile, Allegiant Flight 515, en route from Las Vegas to Idaho Falls, slid off a slick Idaho Falls runway on December 9. There were no injuries reported in any of the incidents.
In response to the GAO report, FAA said serious incidents were on the decline but soon thereafter incidents at JFK, BWI and Newark conspired to make the numbers rise. However, the three incidents would seem to belie its assertions.
On December 6, an ExpressJet Continental Express Embraer ERJ-145, en route to Omaha, taxied onto a Newark runway after failing to follow air traffic control instructions to hold short for a Continental 737 inbound from Toronto at about 9 pm. The ExpressJet aircraft reportedly crossed two runways on its way to Runway 11/29, the short, cross-wind runway. The FAA reported the 737 came within 300 feet of the ERJ’s nose as it landed long to avoid the regional jet. In a similar incident on December 2, a Comair jet took off over a US Airways jet at Baltimore. The FAA reported that aircraft came within 300 feet of one another in both incidents. While FAA said the number of serious incidents was declining, GAO contradicted it saying overall the number of incursions was on the rise with 370 recorded last year.
The agency stated that the two aircraft – an American Eagle 37-seat ERJ 145 and an EVA Cargo 747 – involved in the JFK incident were never in danger, contradicting reports by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. The Daily News reported the 145 and cargoliner came “hair-raisingly close” at Kennedy late on the afternoon of December 11.
The American Eagle pilot decided not to land after the 747 touched down, according to a NATCA spokesperson. FAA Spokesperson Jim Peters said the JFK incident was a non event, according to the radar data of the two aircraft. He added that, despite controller assertions that the regional jet could have crashed in the wake turbulence of the 747, they were landing on perpendicular runways, thus wake turbulence was not a factor.
Politicians took the opportunity to make hay. The newspaper cited a statement from Senator Chuck Schumer’s quoting a veteran controller as saying, "That was the closest I have ever seen two airplanes get together." Meanwhile, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) said “the FAA is simply not doing enough to ensure safety on our runways.”