Thu, Oct 12, 2006
Plan Aims To Cut Runway Incursions
DFW is set to get a beltway... the
airport, that is, not the city. Workers broke ground Tuesday on the
$67 million project, which calls for a perimeter taxiway system
around DFW's busiest runways.
The ambitious 18-month project gives controllers the ability to
move aircraft around active runways, instead of across them. The
safety implications are obvious -- with fewer planes crossing
runways, the likelihood of runway incursions goes down -- but
planners say the system will actually cut taxi times as well.
After all, planners say, traffic backs up while planes wait for
a crossing clearance... and departing aircraft must wait when an
aircraft is crossing.
Experts estimate pilots cross active runways up to 1600 times a
day at DFW. That's 1600 times each day a misunderstood instruction
might lead to disaster. Currently, DFW boasts one of the lowest
runway incursion rates of the FAA's top 20 airports. This plans
stands to improve that rating even further.
For time savings, experts estimate communication time could be
cut drastically. Complex taxi instructions -- especially those
including do-not-cross restrictions, which must be read back --
create a great deal of radio congestion. A perimeter taxiway could
reduce that controllers estimate it takes 40 seconds for a
controller to give a clearance to cross... and the pilot to execute
the clearance.
"This project is just another step toward efficiency and safety
for the flying public," said FAA regional director Ava Wilkerson to
the Dallas Morning News. The agency is footing the bill for 75
percent of the project, which will be limited initially to the
airport's southeast quadrant.
In the past few years, airlines at DFW have reduced congestion
by spreading departures and arrivals over more time. Project
planners say the time saved with the new taxiways could increase
DFW capacity by as much as 30-percent.
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