Improving Airplane Safety: A Look at Near-Collision Reduction Efforts in the US

A worrying rise in near-collisions on runways across the country seems to have ended — for now. This year has seen just one airport close call through October that aviation regulators have classified as serious — a drop that people in the industry credited to an intense focus from the FAA and a call for the entire industry to renew its attention to the basics of safety.

The Progress and Challenges

Since air travel began climbing out of its pandemic-induced trough, the country had seen a steep spike in near-collisions involving commercial airplanes, with five incidents in 2022 and 11 incidents in 2023 in which a passenger airplane came perilously close to colliding with another plane or a vehicle on the ground. Though FAA data for this year runs through only October, all of last year’s 11 serious incidents occurred during the same period.

But air safety experts warn that the improvement belies the stress still bearing down on the aviation system — including record-breaking demand for flights, fatigue and shortages among air traffic controllers and increasingly decrepit FAA equipment. All of those remain threats to the nation’s unprecedented safety record, which has not seen a fatal airline crash in the U.S. since July 2013.

Leadership Transition and Safety Initiatives

In addition, Mike Whitaker, who has led the FAA for roughly the last year, is departing Jan. 20, leaving a leadership vacuum that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will have to fill. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former Army helicopter pilot who chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees aviation, said steps the FAA has taken to redouble attention to safety basics have helped — including through a March 2023 safety summit led by the agency that got the industry talking about solutions.

But that doesn’t mean it’s time for a victory lap, she said — a sentiment shared by several other experts who spoke with POLITICO. “I don’t think we can relax because I think that as we get into the holiday season and then next summer, we’re only going to see traffic increase,” Duckworth told reporters earlier this month.

Future Challenges and Solutions

Duckworth noted that a recently enacted law boosted the number of air traffic controllers that can be trained annually, but they will still need time training on the job. She said much of the aviation system is still “playing catch-up” from the pandemic, after which travel demand rose much faster than expected. “We’re not going to get to a place where we can be secure until we get all of these upgrades to the equipment that’s desperately needed,” she added.

Continued Safety Measures

According to POLITICO’s analysis of FAA data through October, the agency logged one incident in which a passenger jet came too close to hitting a vehicle on a runway. The FAA classified that incident as the second-most serious type in the agency’s four-tier sorting scheme. The FAA has made investments in additional equipment at certain airports that alert air traffic controllers of a potential calamity, and an aviation law passed earlier this year also mandates more technologies that help controllers better see all sorts of moving parts on runways and taxiways.

Industry Collaboration and Progress

Southwest Airlines highlighted a safety summit the FAA held last year, which the airline said placed a “renewed emphasis” on the issue. A spokesperson said the airline’s own “dynamic” organizational safety program prompts it to continuously review performance to help identify safety gaps where it can. American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines had no immediate comment about why this year’s statistics are better. John Cox, a former pilot and former executive air safety chair with the Air Line Pilots Association union, credited a whole-of-industry effort for the turnaround.

ALPA leader Jason Ambrosi, whose union represents a majority of pilots for U.S. airlines, credited pilot awareness and technology for helping blunt the trend this year. He also praised the FAA for bringing the aviation community together to tackle the issue, which prompted organizations such as ALPA to remind its pilots to refocus on basics like reducing distractions, among other initiatives. But more redundancies to prevent such events are needed, he said.

Conclusion

The efforts to reduce near-collisions and enhance aviation safety in the US demonstrate a collaborative approach among industry stakeholders, regulators, and lawmakers. While progress has been made, challenges such as increasing air traffic demand and infrastructure limitations persist. Vigilance, investment in technology, and ongoing training remain crucial to sustaining the positive momentum in air travel safety.