Report warns safety slipping on airport runways

A scathing report by congressional investigators warns there's a good chance a "catastrophic runway collision" could happen in the nation's airports because of poor leadership, inadequate technology and overworked controllers.

The study released Wednesday credited the Federal Aviation Administration for reducing runway safety incidents from a peak in 2001. But they said the agency's "runway safety efforts subsequently waned" as the number of incidents settled at a lower level.

FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro countered Wednesday that the Government Accountability Office investigation overlooked that the number of serious incidents is declining.

And close to home at O'Hare International Airport, a new $12 million ground radar system should keep air travelers safer, Molinaro said.

"The older type of radar had some issues with poor visibility," he said. "The new ground radar gives controllers advance warning." The high-tech system at O'Hare is one of 10 in the country, the FAA said.

But Joseph M. Bellino, union leader for O'Hare traffic controllers, called the report right on the money.

"We've been saying forever that we're short-handed," Bellino said.

And while the new radar program is a quantum leap from the older version, it's not a cure-all, he said.

"You stop runway incursions by taking your time and not making mistakes," Bellino said.

O'Hare has experienced close calls -- including one in July, when an incoming jet had to abort a landing to avoid striking a Boeing 737-300 on a taxiway.

And in September 2006, two large jets came within 35 feet of colliding as they headed toward O'Hare.

According to the GAO report, in the 2007 budget year that ended Sept. 30, runway safety incidents spiked to 370. That approached the level in 2001, when there were 407 runway incursions. An incursion is any aircraft, vehicle or person that goes where it should not be in space reserved for takeoff or landing.

In Chicago, there were 13 runway incursions during the 2007 fiscal year -- all but one occurring at O'Hare, officials said. Only two were considered serious.

At this time, "no single office is taking charge of assessing the causes of runway safety problems and taking the steps needed to," the GAO said in the report requested by U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, a downstate Democrat and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on aviation.

In August, the FAA held an industrywide conference to produce ideas for quick action. In October, the agency reported progress on recommendations from the conference, including speeding improved runway markings and pilot training.

The GAO report approved of those moves but also recommended more leadership from the FAA, better data collection and less overtime required of controllers.

Serious incursions, where a collision was narrowly averted, declined to a record-low 24 in 2007, compared with 31 the year before. But the report said they have stayed high enough to pose "a high risk of a catastrophic runway collision."

In response to the report, the FAA said it had reached its goal of reducing the most serious incursions by almost 25 percent in 2007. The agency said the overtime was a short-term issue that could be resolved through stepped-up hiring.

But Bellino warned numerous air traffic controllers are retiring or have retired, posing a serious experience gap.

Costello and others have urged quick approval of a House-passed FAA bill that would provide $42 million for incursion reduction and $72 million for runway lighting, require an FAA runway safety and technology plan, and force the FAA to reopen contract negotiations with controllers. The Bush administration opposes that provision.

Since 1990, 63 people have died in six U.S. runway collisions.