Worst in 7 years! 19 serious runway incursions occurred in the United States in 2023
According to SimpleFlying reports, the US FAA confirmed 19 serious runway incursions from January to October 2023, which is the highest record since 2016. Figures for the full year 2023 have not yet been released, but the numbers are expected to be higher.
U.S. officials cited insufficient air traffic controllers, inexperience of airline pilots and outdated technology systems as possible reasons for the high number of runway incursions. Others pointed out that air traffic volume will increase significantly year-on-year in 2023, putting the entire system under pressure.
After a series of runway incursions, the FAA has begun forming an expert committee composed of former aviation safety board members and sleep experts to address the issue of air traffic controller fatigue. The committee, which will begin work in January 2024, will examine how the latest technology on sleep needs and fatigue issues can be applied to the work needs and scheduling of air traffic controllers.
According to a report commissioned by the FAA, there are now about 1,000 fewer FAA-certified air traffic controllers than there were 10 years ago, even as air traffic surges. The report points out that the shortage of air traffic controllers has become increasingly dangerous for air travel.
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The FAA says air traffic controllers and pilots play a key role in aviation safety. The FAA has recruited 1,500 air traffic controllers in 2023, and more than 2,600 people are receiving training at different levels.
At the beginning of 2023, the U.S. government allocated $26 million in funding for new technology applications to improve the safety of the U.S. aviation industry. The funds will first be used to improve air traffic controllers' situational awareness and apply automated systems to warn air traffic controllers when aircraft are approaching the wrong runway. The FAA has also deployed runway incursion monitoring equipment to 72 additional airports.
How America Prevents Runway Incursions
In 1999, a number of serious runway incursions occurred in the United States. In 2000, the NTSB, as an independent regulatory agency, issued a total of six safety recommendations to the FAA, aiming to jointly address confirmed runway incursion risks. include:
A runway collision warning system is required to provide pilots with direct and timely alerts.
Stricter ATC procedures for issuing runway crossing clearances and runway waiting clearances for departing aircraft.
For runway and ground mobile operations, ATC uses ICAO PANS-ATM terminology, excluding "conditional phraseology".
Controllers are required to "speak at a reasonable pace when communicating with aircrew, especially those whose primary language is not English."
In view of the many incidents involving foreign crews and the fact that many of the FAA's radio standard call terms are inconsistent with ICAO, the NTSB emphasized the need to use internationally accepted call terms in its safety recommendations. Shortly thereafter, an obvious example was that the FAA changed the terminology of "taxi into position and hold" in its air traffic control manual from "taxi into position and hold" to ICAO's standard terminology: "line up and wait."