Close calls at US airports - including Logan - has FAA looking at safety
BOSTON - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is looking for solutions after a half dozen close calls at airports across the country in recent weeks, one of which was at Logan Airport.
The FAA is holding a safety summit, the first of its kind in four years, as the agency tries to understand what's happening.
"This is an industry where you have to bring your A-game every time, every day, every year," said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen.
Nolen admits close calls are happening more often, the latest at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The FAA said on March 7, one jet taxied across a runway where another was about to take off.
Two weeks ago, a similar incident at Logan Airport, when a Lear jet taxied in front of a JetBlue Plane that was trying to land.
Just last week, the wings of two United planes clipped each other at Logan.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in either case.
"These recent incidents must serve as a wake up call for every single one of us before something more catastrophic occurs," said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy.
Some are calling for Congress to increase the FAA's budget to upgrade technology and boost staffing and instruction as airlines return to pre-pandemic schedules.
"All of those folks need training, either as first-time people in the system or folks who need that muscle memory to kick back in after a period of being away from the system," said American Association of Airport Executives President and CEO Todd Hauptli.
The NTSB has a couple of suggestions to improve safety, including runway technology designed to prevent incursions, but it's only installed at about 40 airports.