Cargo Carrier Fears Operational Slowdown
FedEx is calling for the FAA to reverse its decision to end a
long-standing and questionable landing procedure at its Memphis, TN
hub, saying it could lead to serious nationwide delays in package
deliveries.
James Parker, FedEx senior vice president for air operations
told FAA Administrator Marion Blakey in a letter the change "isn't
appropriate" and would lead to "a significant slowdown in
operations" according to USA Today.
"The impact of this change to our 'absolutely positively
overnight' service cannot be understated," Parker wrote.
As ANN reported, when
aircraft land on runway 18L or 18C from the north at MEM, they pass
over Runway 27; if an airplane is on 27 or its taxiways, it creates
a potential safety hazard. Advocates for a change at MEM
also state a go-round could be a tragedy waiting to happen for
planes approaching Runway 27, when simultaneous approaches are
underway on the perpendicular runways.
FedEx wholeheartedly disagrees, however. A spokesman for the
Memphis-based cargo hauler said, "We've followed these arrival
procedures for 20 years and know its safe or we wouldn't be flying
them."
Safety investigators ruled April 2 the landing arrangement
violated FAA rules and that it was "never properly authorized,"
according to an FAA memo and changed the procedure on April 13.
A situation that's been termed a 'near-miss' between two
aircraft thrust the issue in the spotlight. The situation occurred
in February when a Northwest Airlines jet flew within several
hundred feet of a turboprop commuter plane that had aborted its
landing.
According to FedEx spokesman Maury Lane, flight delays of even
a few minutes could trigger "delays in our sorting operations,
which could have a negative impact on our customer service
levels."
"For more than 20 years, we've landed in this configuration, and
we know it's safe," Lane said.
Pilot unions and controllers have said the landing procedure in
question can be adapted in such a way it cause nothing more than
minor delays.
FAA officials met in Memphis Tuesday for a safety review of the
landing pattern, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.
Pete Sufka, president of the Memphis chapter of the National Air
Traffic Controllers Association, said a FedEx jet come within
several hundred feet of another jet on a similar runway pattern in
April 2002.
Lane disagrees saying the incident involved different runways
and was not comparable.