FAA, NTSB investigating several serious close calls amid record-breaking air travel

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of runway incidents happen every year nationwide.

One of the more serious incidents occurred in late May at Reagan National Airport near DC when an air traffic controller had to make urgent call just moments before takeoff.

“American 2134, cancel takeoff clearance! Zero alpha alpha, go around! Go around!” said an air traffic controller.

“Rejecting to takeoff 2134,” replied the pilot.

In these audio recordings, an air traffic controller canceled the takeoff for an American Airlines flight because the Federal Aviation Administration said another airplane was already cleared for landing on an intersecting runway.

Now the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA are both investigating that close call. It comes as federal data shows nearly 700 runway incidents so far this year. But agency officials say these numbers are dropping.

“The FAA and the aviation community are pursuing a goal of zero serious close calls, and we have seen a recent drop in serious runway incidents. The number of serious runway incursions in the first four months of 2024 decreased by 66 percent from the same period in 2023,” said the FAA in a written statement.

But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that isn’t enough.

“I’m not going to be satisfied until we pressed them to new historic lows. And a lot of work is going into that led by the team at the FAA,” said Buttigieg. “The most important thing to remember is how many people and professionals from air traffic controllers to pilots, flight crews, mechanics and inspectors do the work that has made it the case that flying is the safest way to get anywhere in the United States of America.”

The FAA said it is also working to reduce these near misses by holding regular runway safety action meetings and using modernized simulators to help air traffic controllers in training be more prepared.

Additionally, the agency said it is also using new technology that provides audio and visual alerts for air traffic controllers when an airplane is heading toward the wrong runway or even the wrong airport.

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