Magazine report finds overlooked air travel threat: ground collisions

Posted 13/10/2011

Most air travelers view their trip as routine and it’s likely few worry about mishaps but a new survey on safety rating the most dangerous airports may cause some passenger anxiety.

Close runway calls are more common than travelers realize “or most airports like to admit,” says Joe Yogerst, writing in Travel + Leisure.  

He writes that runway incidents are a daily occurrence in the US, ranging from near vehicle collisions to people wandering onto a runway without permission.

Some airports have an even higher number of close calls, based on an analysis by Travel + Leisure using statistics from the latest Runway Safety Report issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The result was that Chicago’s O’Hare was the most dangerous airport with 75 incidents.

Others in the top five:

The magazine’s report used FAA statistics to determine which of the 35 busiest commercial airports in the United States have had the most near misses and other runway incidents over the past five years (2006–2010).

While everything from weather to wildlife can contribute to an incident on the tarmac, “two-thirds of all runway incursions are caused by pilot deviation,” says Wes Timmons, FAA’s retired director of runway safety told the magazine.

“In other words, pilots simply ignore instructions from air traffic control,” the story said.

Most of the potential problems are not caused by commercial pilots, however, but small private planes. The vast majority of incidents are also minor, the report said.

The FAA has also in recent years introduced many new programs and technologies aimed at improved safety.

By David Wilkening

Originally published 13 Oct 2011 at: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/398/f/5923/s/1931b119/l/0L0Stravelmole0N0Cstories0C11497430Bphp0Dmpnlog0F1/story01.htm