Jets miss crash by 30 feet; NTSB asks why (CNN)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has released dramatic animation of two runway near-collisions this year to illustrate what the agency says is the need for improvements in runway safety.

The first animation shows a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 and a United Airlines Airbus A320 coming within 230 feet of colliding on the runway at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida in July.

The re-creation was based on radar and flight data recorder information from the planes involved.

The animation includes audio from the air traffic controller, who can be heard yelling, "Stop, stop, stop!" to the United plane as the Delta aircraft attempts to land.

The second animation shows a May incident at San Francisco International Airport in California in which a Republic Airlines jet takes off, coming within 35 feet of a SkyWest Airlines commuter turboprop that has just landed.


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more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/09/runway.safety/index.html

funding for safety and upgraded equipment. No words. :grr:

with the complicated layouts of some runways and taxi ways and sometimes, according to my ATCer SO, well...they just don't listen to instructions or don't ask for runway/taxi way directions when they need to.

"Hold short of the runway" means, WAIT YOUR TURN! DO NOT CROSS THAT FUCKING RUNWAY, THERE'S A JET THAT'S GOING TO LAND ON IT GOD DAMN IT!

But ATCers can't say that on the radio.

Runway incursions happen...a lot.

Unfortunately due to Reagan's firing of all Air Traffic Controllers (ATC)at the same time, they are all retiring at the same time. What that means, is that the most experienced ATC 4 years from now will be FIVE years. That's right. Everyone on the job will have been doing it for 5 years or less. These two incidents are just a sample. Just the ones that have made the news. These types of incidents are increasing at an alarming rate. From a personal perspective, (I'm an airline captain), just this past year I've had more controller induced incidents than the past 19 years COMBINED.

In addition to inexperienced controllers, we are approaching a historic level of inexperience for airline pilots. New hiring minimums for many commuter airlines such as Republic are a mere 300-500 hours. About 1 year total flying experience. This is in contrast to the thousands of hours of experience required in years past. Why? It is expensive to learn to become an airline pilot. Roughly $80K and up. Secondly, poor working conditions, i.e; being away from home 4-5 days a week. Airline pilots have an extraordinary high divorce rate. Higher than cops and almost all other professions.

The pay? A starting salary of $18-25K per year. That's right $18,000 - $25,000 per year. Most can look forward to eventually making about $100-$130K after more than 10 years experience. In years past, say the late 1970's and early 1980's, senior airline captains could look forward to making $400 -500K in 2007 dollars adjusted for inflation. And have a lifelong pension. No more.

This is why there were only 650 total new commercial pilots last year (The total number of active airline pilots in the US is about 87,000).

There WILL be fatal accidents in the next few years. Why? It is the logical results of deregulation, union busting of controllers and airline employees and a shortage of qualified people.

Just in case: :sarcasm:

Controller STILL don't have a contract. By simply not negotiating, the FAA is able to force Controllers to accept what they are given.

-Hoot

You name it .... FEMA .... NTSB .... FAA .... DoD .... CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) .... FCC .... Treasury .... State Dept .... nothing works like it is supposed to due to collossal mismanagement. AWOL Monkey-Boy made the Federal Government a Good-ol-Boys club. He appointed his friends and benefactors to positions they had absoultely no qualifications for and now we reap the results of their collective ineptitude.