Says FAA Is Taking Too Long To Implement Basic Safety Rules

NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman opened the FAA International Runway Summit Tuesday by chiding the agency for leaving six runway safety recommendations open since 2000, the year they were presented by the NTSB.

"In July 2000 the NTSB issued six recommendations to the FAA to amend various United States ATC procedures that, in the NTSB's judgment, unnecessarily added to the risks associated with airport surface operations," Hersman said.  "All but one of those six recommendations are still open with FAA responses in varying states of completion, and the remaining recommendation, regarding limitations on the use of position-and-hold procedures, has been closed – unacceptable action after the FAA declined to make the recommended changes."

"One of the recommendations asked the FAA to require the use of standard ICAO phraseology (excluding conditional clearances) for airport surface operations," she continued.  "In response, we were recently advised that the FAA soon plans to adopt a single change: the use of “line up and wait” instead of “position and hold” to instruct pilots to enter a runway and wait for takeoff clearance.

We needed to wait nine years for that?"

Hersman (pictured) did say that runway incursions are rare, and praised ATC personnel and flight crews for their diligence on the ground. "If we look at the numbers, the runway incursion rate in the United States over the past 4 years stands at about 6 runway incursions per 100,000 tower operations and this year, the numbers are looking even better," she said.  "While these incursions represent close calls and are measured in feet rather than miles, it is not due to luck that we avert disaster on a daily basis, it is because of robust procedures, safe designs, and well-trained and alert controllers and pilots that these accidents are prevented.  Many of the people in this room can take credit for this safety record, my hat is off to you for what you’ve accomplished to date, but the next question we have to ask is how can we get from 6 per 100,000 to zero?"

Hersman said that runway safety has been one of the NTSB's top priorities for many years, and four specific issues currently occupy prominent places on the Board's list of "Most Wanted" safety improvements.  She said the NTSB has asked the FAA and the industry to:

• Give immediate warnings of probable collisions/incursions directly to cockpit flight crews.
• Require specific air traffic control clearance for each runway crossing.
• Install cockpit moving map displays or automatic systems to alert pilots of attempted takeoffs from taxiways or wrong runways.
• Require landing distance assessment with an adequate safety margin.

Hersman said FAA should move more quickly in their evaluation and implementation of runway safety technology. "For several years the FAA has been evaluating various technologies that can provide a direct warning to pilots of a runway incursion risk," she said.  "Whether it is Runway Status Lights (RWSLs), Final Approach Runway Occupancy Signal (FAROS), or efforts to develop a minimum operational performance specification for an ADS-B based surface alerting application that would provide a direct cockpit warning of a runway incursion risk, the FAA is taking commendable actions, but they are just too slow. In 2011, 11 years after the issuance of the recommendation for a direct warning to the cockpit, only 22 airports will have RWSLs installed.  The FAA’s testing of and plans to develop standards for a system based on ADS-B to provide a direct cockpit warning are also commendable, although the FAA’s proposed requirements for ADS-B do not include a requirement for ADS-B In, which will be necessary for such a system."

"The FAA announced that it will provide funding for users who agree to equip their aircraft with an Electronic Flight Bag, which includes Moving Map Displays, or an aural runway alerting system.  Again, The FAA’s program to encourage users to equip their aircraft with moving map displays is commendable, but it is not a requirement, and the program is limited to no more than $5 million. As a result, the program is not likely to result in widespread adoption of moving map technology." 

Hersman said the Runway Safety Summit is a positive step in resolving these issue. "Gatherings such as this one, which bring together professionals from many disciplines and many countries to discuss common problems, can help all of us to succeed in delivering real safety results," she said. "Runway safety is not the sole responsibility of the Administrator or even a tower manager or a particular controller; runway safety begins when an airport is designed, standard phraseology is used, and well before pilots brief an approach.  Safety is accomplished through cooperation, collaboration and commitment."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov