Rise in Aviation Mishaps Focus of FAA Safety Summit

Transportation leaders and aviation stakeholders met Wednesday to discuss commonalities in a string of close calls at U.S. airports.

Amelia Walsh

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 05:22 PM ET

Verified

“Initial information suggests that more mistakes than usual are happening across the system," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday during the FAA Safety Summit in Washington, D.C. [Credit: FAA/Screenshot]

Key Takeaways:

A recent runway incident at Reagan National Airport marks the seventh close call under investigation this year, prompting an FAA Safety Summit to address a perceived "uptick" in aviation incidents.
Despite the U.S. national aviation system's overall high safety record, officials acknowledge that more "mistakes" are occurring across the system and view these incidents as "precursor events" signaling potential underlying issues.
Key contributing factors identified at the summit include an unprecedented surge in air travel demand, staffing shortages (particularly air traffic controllers), and a lack of funding for new technologies.
The Biden Administration plans to hire thousands of new air traffic controllers, and industry leaders stress the importance of vigilance as air travel demand and airspace congestion continue to grow.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The day before Wednesday’s much-anticipated FAA Safety Summit to address a series of close calls and identify risks to the aviation industry, yet another alarming incident came to light.

A runway event occurred at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. on March 7. According to reports, a Republic Airways Embraer E175 made a wrong turn and crossed a runway as a United Airlines Airbus A319 was preparing to take off.