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 problem, with over 1000 reported annually and pilot deviations identified as the primary cause.
Despite available tools and procedures, incidents continue to rise, mainly due to loss of situational awareness, communication confusion, distractions, and pilot complacency during ground operations.
Preventing incursions requires vigilant attention to communication, clear taxi instructions and readbacks, maintaining external situational awareness, and adhering strictly to runway crossing protocols.
Major accidents, such as the Tenerife collision, underscore the critical importance of standardized phraseology and effective crew resource management to ensure ground safety.

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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.