USA Today

12/01/00- Updated 09:31 AM ET

Runway scares on rise in USA

By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Near collisions on the nation's runways are soaring to record levels this year despite a massive effort by federal and local airport officials to reduce the problem. So far this year, the Federal Aviation Administration has recorded 391 close calls on runways, and the number could rise to a total of about 420 for the year. That total represents a 31% increase over 1999 and far exceeds the FAA's goal of holding these runway incidents to less than 250 for the year.

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At the same time, a USA TODAY analysis of aviation data has found at least 250 incidents in this country over the past 15 years that are similar in key ways to the Oct. 31 crash of a Singapore Airlines jet in Taiwan, which killed 82 people. In that accident, pilots tried to take off on a runway under construction and slammed into equipment.

In a handful of cases, large jets struck construction equipment or barricades blocking runways, but narrowly averted disaster, according to federal records. The incidents received little publicity because no one was injured.

Most aviation safety experts believe that the chance of a collision on the ground is one of the greatest risks faced by airline passengers. An FAA-sponsored research project estimated that, as traffic grows, runway collisions would become the largest cause of fatalities unless the present risk is reduced.

John Mayrhofer, the chief of the FAA's runway safety program, said he had "no doubt" that this year's trend was due to increased reporting of near collisions, not an actual rise in the number of cases.

"We're having a much more thorough or accurate count of what's happening, and that's good," Mayrhofer said.

Other federal officials who investigate runway incidents say that may be true, but it is impossible to say for certain what the trend means because of gaps in FAA record keeping. The FAA plans to adopt a better system of analyzing records in January.

After years of criticism for inaction in its runway safety program, the FAA this year held a series of seminars around the country seeking solutions. Officials vowed that new technology combined with simpler efforts to improve such things as airport signs would bring down the number of near collisions on runways.

Just the opposite has occurred so far. After hitting record levels in 1998, the number of runway near collisions fell slightly to 321 last year. This year, runway incidents have climbed steadily. There was only one month this year when the number of incidents has been lower than the same month the year earlier.

These incidents involve commercial jets and general aviation planes. Federal officials do not keep separate statistics on the number of runway near collisions that involve airlines. The FAA defines runway "incursions," or near collisions, as any event that creates a "collision hazard" at an airport.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), December 02, 2000