Jul 14, 2008 11:21 pm US/Central
FAA To Use Colored Runway Lights To Avoid Mishaps
Offers $100,000 Bonus To Veteran Air Traffic Controllers As Incentive To Come To New York City-Area Airports
Lights To Be Used At Kennedy, LaGuardia, 19 Airports Nationwide
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The FAA announced on July 14 that runway lights at 19 airports across the country will now turn different colors to indicate if the landing strip is safe.
CBS
The Federal Aviation Administration is making changes to improve runway safety.
The move comes just days after two near-collisions in less than a week at Kennedy Airport.
Being a passenger on an airplane just got safer. Or, at least that's what the FAA and frequent fliers are hoping.
"Flying is not that safe," Flushing resident Omar Moumou said.
"I have always been a little worried about flying," added Louis Alvarez of Pennsylvania.
On Monday officials with the FAA announced changes to the way planes take off and land.
"I do think we can do better and we are," acting FAA administrator Robert Sturgell said. "The steps we're announcing today I think will help us get there."
These changes come after two near-collisions at JFK in just one week.
Last week, local affiliate CBS 2 HD gained access to flight recordings between a Cayman Islands Airways plane and a LAN-Chile plane. Reports indicated the planes came within several hundred feet of each other.
Controller: "533, traffic on miss approach off 22 left turning southbound. Start you right turn to 170 now."
Due to that mishap and one involving Delta and Comair flights on Friday, the lights on runways will now change color to signal if a runway is safe to enter or cross. The new lights will be installed in 19 other airports across the country.
The air traffic controllers' union points to another safety problem at airports – the decline of controllers in the towers guiding pilots.
To encourage controllers from across the country to come to the New York City area, the FAA is now offering a $100,000 incentive. It's also stepping up recruitment.
"What we are trying to do with these bonuses is we're trying to encourage and incentivize some our veteran controllers to move into these facilities," Sturgell said.
But this doesn't seem like a solution to Stephen Abraham of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
"In those two incidents over the last 10 days we had experienced controllers with 20 years of experience prying those airplanes apart," Abraham said. "I don't know if you're gonna see that with somebody who is brand new."
Sturgell noted that over the past year there were 24 serious runway incursions, an all-time low. So far this year, there have been 19, four involving commercial aircraft, which he said is on track with the previous year. Sturgell said the recent JFK incidents were not runway incursions.
"So we continue to see good results," Sturgell said. "But I do think we can do better and we are. The steps we're announcing today, I think will help us get there."
Since 1990, 63 people have died in six U.S. runway collisions.
The runway safety system announced Monday involves lighting systems to be installed at 19 more airports over the next three years. The lights change color to signal when a runway is safe to enter or cross.
The system of warning lights has been tested at the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego airports. Similar systems will be installed at airports in Atlanta, Baltimore-Washington, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston Intercontinental, John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington-Dulles.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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