FAA to Hold Runway Safety Meetings at 90 Airports Following Close-Call Incidents
WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Tuesday that it will be conducting runway safety meetings at 90 airports in the coming weeks in response to a series of close-call aviation incidents.
Earlier this month, the FAA, along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), initiated an investigation into a near collision involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet in San Diego.
The NTSB is currently examining seven runway incursion events that have occurred since January, with the San Diego incident included in their investigation. These incidents have raised concerns about the safety of air travel.
In March, the FAA acknowledged the need for improvement in its air traffic control operations after a number of near-miss incidents. The agency stated that there were “too many close calls” and pledged to take steps to address the issue.
As part of its efforts to enhance runway safety, the FAA will be hosting “Runway Safety Action Team” meetings at various airports through the end of September. Representatives from the FAA, airlines, pilots, airport vehicle drivers, and other stakeholders will collaborate to identify specific risks to surface safety and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate those risks.
It is important to note that the FAA has been operating without a permanent administrator since April 2022. President Joe Biden’s nominee for the position, Phil Washington, withdrew his nomination in March, and a new nominee has yet to be selected by the White House.
In the absence of a permanent administrator, Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg has been serving as the acting FAA administrator in addition to her duties at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The FAA conducted a preliminary review of the Aug. 11 incident and found that an air traffic controller at San Diego International Airport had cleared the Cessna to land even though Southwest Airlines Flight 2493 had already been instructed to taxi onto the same runway and await further instructions.
A similar near-collision incident took place in February in Austin, Texas, involving a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Boeing 737. The two aircraft came within approximately 115 feet (35 meters) of each other in poor visibility conditions. The air traffic controller had cleared the FedEx plane to land while instructing the Southwest plane to depart.
In response to these incidents, the FAA held a safety summit and issued a safety alert in March, urging airlines, pilots, and others to remain vigilant and prioritize the mitigation of safety risks.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Bernadette Baum
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