Mon, Nov 30, 2009
Procedures Allowed Landings On Intersecting Runways
The Federal Office Of Special Counsel has sent a letter to
White House Counsel Gregory Craig accusing the FAA of "gross
mismanagement and a substantial and specific danger to public
safety" for landing procedures still in place at Newark
airport.
The November 19th letter is the result of a whistleblower
complaint filed by an air traffic controller last year that
describes procedures that allow airplanes to land on intersecting
runways. Controller Raymond Adams said that allowing simultaneous
approaches to the runways causes serious incursions and risks
mid-air collisions.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the DOT Inspector General
agreed with the allegations filed in October, and that the FAA
reported 10 days later that it had instituted changes in the
procedures when it apparently has not. Associate Special Counsel
William E. Reukauf wrote that an investigator told the OSC "the
procedures have not been implemented and FAA has not completed
critical steps that FAA represented it had accomplished."
Among the changes proposed by the FAA were to have controllers
on Long Island stagger arrivals into Newark to ease the pressure on
controllers to keep the aircraft out of each other's way. Another
was to use a software solution at Newark and on Long Island
software called Converging Runway Display Aid. The program creates
a computer-generated "ghost target" to project where flight paths
will cross. Adams said the CRDA solution was discontinued after
being in use for a short time.
FAA spokesman Jim Peters said last week that "FAA safety
officers wanted to make absolutely sure employees were fully
trained on the equipment and parameters and go-around procedures
were in place before CRDA was used regularly."
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