Los Angeles World Airports Safety Justification for Relocating the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) North Airfield Complex Closer to Westchester Homes Once Again Proven a Myth

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D.
It's a good thing that Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has finally begun to pull the mask of safety from its plan to move Runway 24R in the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) North Airfield Complex closer to Westchester Homes. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), only three of the total twelve runway incursions reported at LAX during FY 2010 occurred on the North Airfield. This follows a long pattern of imbalance of incursions preponderantly occurring on the South Airfield.

 

On Friday, October 8, 2010, the FAA announced that the number of minor runway incursions at LAX increased from eight in FY 2009 to twelve during the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2010. No serious incursions that could endanger aircraft or passengers were reported at LAX during FY 2010. Nationwide, the number of serious runway incursions dropped from twelve in FY 2009 to eight in FY 2010. According to FAA officials, ten of the LAX incursions were caused by pilots who strayed across “hold lines,” while two were caused by air traffic controllers. Three of the incursions occurred on the North Airfield and nine were reported on the South Airfield, where LAX officials recently spent $83 million to further separate two parallel runways and add a centerline taxiway in an effort to reduce incursions on the South Airfield.

The FAA comparison of North and South Airfield runway incursions, showing three times as many incursions on the South Airfield as on the North Airfield, follows the recent LAX North Airfield Safety Study which found that the North Airfield is safe as presently configured, and that LAX officials’ plans to further separate the North Airfield runways and add a parallel center taxiway cannot be based on increased safety reasons.

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North Airfield Safety Study Final Report Confirms Earlier Conclusion That the North Airfield is Safe

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D.

The Los Angeles International Airport North Airfield Safety Study Final Report (“Final Report”), published on May 11, 2010, looks very much like the draft. The Final Report, like the draft, concluded that no safety problem exists on the two runways of the North Airfield. It further concludes that an additional separation of the runways by 340 feet is unnecessary for safety purposes, although useful for increasing capacity. Finally, the study concludes that an additional separation of 100 feet, originally proposed by the Cities of Inglewood and El Segundo, which would allow the addition of a center taxiway, would be sufficient to accommodate any remaining safety concerns. The study, however, reaches the correct conclusions for the wrong reasons.

The Final Report, like the draft, ignores the study’s original directive from the Board of Airport Commissioners, to determine the impact of the various runway configurations on the incidence of runway “incursions,” or the conflict of two or more aircraft or vehicles on a runway. Instead, it concentrates on runway collisions and fatalities, an infinitesimally small subset of incursions in general. Moreover, also like the draft, the Final Report declines to cite the sources of the data used in reaching its conclusions.

Finally, and perhaps most crucially, Los Angeles World Airports didn’t have to spend almost half a million dollars on six eminent professors (none of whom have any hands on expertise in air traffic control) to determine that the North Runway Complex is safe. In 2006, the City of Inglewood submitted an analysis which conclusively demonstrated, using Federal Aviation Administration data: (1) the relative absence of incursions on the North Airfield between the years 2000 and 2006; and (2) the minor nature of the incursions that did occur. The Cities of Inglewood and Culver City's comments on the Draft North Airfield Safety Report updated that analysis, but lead to the same conclusion.

In summary, the Board of Airport Commissioners spent valuable dollars to reconfirm a view long held by the pilot and controller community, and reflected in their comments on the draft report and surveys taken as part of the creation of the North Airfield Safety Study - the North Runway Complex at LAX would be as safe as humanly possible with: (1) a center taxiway; (2) better runway lighting and marking; and (3) better pilot and controller training. Additional separation of 340 feet would be throwing good money after bad.
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House Aviation Subcommittee Conducts Hearing on Runway Safety

Posted on September 26, 2008 by Chevalier, Allen & Lichman, LLP

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation met on September 25, 2008 to receive testimony on runway safety.  This hearing was a follow-up to the Subcommittee's February 13th hearing.  Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) stated in his opening remarks that although the U.S. air transportation system is the safest in the world, there remain many issues to be addressed to keep it that way.  In particular, he was concerned about the fact that although air traffic is down by 3% for the first six months of 2008 compared with 2007, runway incursions are up slightly.  While agreeing that the FAA is headed in the right direction with respect to the development and the deploying of new runway technology, Rep. Costello wanted the FAA to address the very real human factors that the GAO raised in the previous hearing, i.e., the air traffic controller shortage and the adequacy of the training of air traffic controllers.  Rep. Costello specifically mentioned the serious runway incursion that occurred at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 2008, where a trainee failed to notice that a small single engine airplane had not yet vacated the runway prior to allowing a regional jet to take-off on the same runway.  It was reported that 35% of the controllers at the tower at Allentown are trainees.

With respect to the increase of runway incursions, Hank Krakowski, FAA's Chief Operating Officer, explained that after the FAA adopted the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) definition of "runway incursion," it has seen a spike in incursions due to the more inclusive nature of the ICAO definition.  That being said, Mr. Krakowski spent most of his time offering an update about the technological innovations and the progress on the testing in the field.  However, Mr. Krakowski did not address Rep. Costello's concerns head-on.  Although he addressed some of the "human factors," by mentioning certain procedural changes and a "first ever" fatigue symposium (which are, by all accounts, steps in the right direction), he did not mention anything about staffing levels and quality of the training.

The necessity of the FAA to increase its focus on the "human factors" was echoed in Dr. Gerald Dillingham's, GAO's Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues, testimony.  Dr. Dillingham stated that the FAA is making progress in continuing to develop and test new technology, promoting changes in airport layout, markings, signage and lighting and issuing new air traffic procedures, but still could focus more on the human factors.  The GAO believes that increased training for pilots and air traffic controllers could help address the human factors issues.

Mr. Patrick Forrey, President of NATCA, found himself in the position of reiterating NATCA's previous recommendation.  Mr. Forrey called for Local Airport Committees for Runway Incursion Prevention, proper staffing of Air Traffic Control Towers, increased modernization of technological components, use of "end-around" taxiways and staggered arrivals into intersecting runways.

Written Testimony provided by:

For a video of the hearing click here.
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