Runway Incursions

With all the distractions in the cockpit-whether its loading the navigator, copying a clearance or simply dropping the only pen you brought along-its no surprise that close calls on the ground are still common. Perhaps not surprising, but not acceptable either. After all, we have a lot of tools to help us remain safe on the ground. Weve had ground-safety procedures drilled into our heads in recent years. GPS is common now for taxiing, along with lots of signs and lights to guide us. So runway incursions and related incidents ought to be on the decline. As it turns out, though, things havent improved.

Elaine Kauh

Thursday, February 09, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Runway incursions are a persistent and increasing safety issue, with over 1000 annual incidents primarily caused by pilot deviations despite existing safety tools and procedures.
The core reasons for these incursions include loss of situational awareness, cockpit distractions, communication confusion, and complacency during ground operations.
Pilots can prevent incursions by maintaining flight-level vigilance, carefully listening to and confirming ATC instructions, continuously scanning the environment, and properly using aircraft lighting.

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With all the distractions in the cockpit—whether it’s loading the navigator, copying a clearance or simply dropping the only pen you brought along—it’s no surprise that close calls on the ground are still common. Perhaps not surprising, but not acceptable either. After all, we have a lot of tools to help us remain safe on the ground. We’ve had ground-safety procedures drilled into our heads in recent years. GPS is common now for taxiing, along with lots of signs and lights to guide us. So runway incursions and related incidents ought to be on the decline. As it turns out, though, things haven’t improved.

Stats Are One Sign

If we look at the reports of recent years studied by the FAA, we’ll see that there have been well over 1000 runway incursions annually and, with flight hours on the rise, those totals are going up. The FAA defines runway incursions as “any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and takeoff of aircraft.” This is a separate category from “surface incidents,” which occur in the areas of the airport other than runways, such as taxiways and ramps.