In light of the recent serious runway incursions at U.S. airports, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Transportation is initiating an audit to assess the FAA’s processes for analyzing data and identifying risks associated with runway incursions, and actions for preventing and mitigating runway incursions at primary commercial service airports.
Runway incursions—incidents involving unauthorized aircraft, vehicles, or people on a runway—have been a longstanding challenge for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation industry.
Since the beginning of January 2023, there has been a series of incidents where aircraft have come dangerously close to each other on runways, including incidents at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and Boston Logan International Airport. The FAA has classified these incidents as serious category A and B runway incursions and, with the recent uptick in these close calls at commercial airports, there has been increased scrutiny on the FAA and the aviation industry to address this critical safety issue.
In response, FAA has taken several actions intended to prevent and mitigate these incursions, including a Call to Action by the FAA Acting Administrator that (1) formed a safety review team focusing on the U.S. aerospace system’s runway safety efforts; (2) held a safety summit in March 2023 with aviation industry stakeholders; and (3) called for re-examining runway incursion data to identify similar serious runway incursions and indications of emerging trends. Additionally, in May 2023, FAA awarded more than $100 million in grants to 12 airports to reduce runway incursions, with most of these funds allocated for projects at commercial airports.
OIG plans to commence the audit this month at FAA Headquarters and selected field sites.
