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Apr 24, 2008 10:34 pm US/Central
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Fly At Your Own Risk: Mistakes In Air On The Rise
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Potentially catastrophic mistakes on runways and operational errors have been increasing in the airspace surrounding Midway and O'Hare International airports.
Planes prepared to land or take off could be dangerously close to other aircraft without the passengers even knowing it, a CBS 2 investigation found.
Since 2003, 52 runway incursions have been reported at O'Hare and Midway by the Federal Aviation Administration. A CBS 2 investigation uncovered many more incidents of incursions reported by NASA during the same time.
"It is more unsafe than it's ever been," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Safety incidents reported anonymously by pilots and controllers were analyzed exclusively by NASA researchers and the 2 Investigators. A computer analysis done on Chicago's Midway and O'Hare International airports reveals that the number of near misses on runways at the two airports is greater than the Federal Aviation Administration reports.
Near Misses Using NASA's computer files, the 2 Investigators also found prevalent cases of pilots flying tired and even taking passenger planes down the wrong runways.
"You have issues of fatigue, you have issues of staffing, you have training issues, you have people that are being asked to do too much, too soon," said Bryan Zilonis, regional vice president of the Great Lakes Region of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Hank Krakowski, chief operating officer of the Air Traffic Organization for the FAA, admitted incursions are becoming a serious concern across the country.
One incursion occurred in 2006 at O'Hare when a United Airlines pilot managed to avoid a cargo jet on an intersecting runway, missing the jet by only 35 feet. The United 737 flight with 125 passengers aboard was taking off as the cargo jet was landing.
"I would say that is about as close as you can get," says Scott Schleiffer, executive air safety vice chairman for the Airline Pilots Association.
Another serious incursion occurred again at O'Hare in July of 2007, and nine incursions have been reported at O'Hare and six at Midway by the FAA in 2008.
"I think we're just a heartbeat away from a major, serious accident," Forrey said.
Krakowski said certain numbers of less serious runway incursions are up because of new definitions of what the agency considers an official incursion. He believes overall safety has been improving as a result of programs designed for workers that identify new technologies, regulations and emphasize training.
Conflicting Reports NASA defines an incursion as any incorrect presence of aircraft or personnel on the surface area specifically designated for landings or take-offs, even if there is no immediate threat or danger of a collision.
The FAA now adheres to the same incursion standards but used to have more specific guidelines that only counted an incident if two aircraft, another vehicle or fixed object that could cause a collision hazard were present.
In addition to the FAA, NASA also keeps reports of incursions and safety incidents with the Aviation Safety Reporting System, a non-punitive reporting system. This system allows controllers and pilots to remain anonymous when disclosing mistakes.
"They found some very revealing problems with near misses, close calls, mistakes by pilots and controllers throughout the system," Forrey said.
At O'Hare, the FAA reported a total of 41 incursions from 2003 to 2007. However the anonymous NASA files reviewed by CBS 2 revealed they received approximately 144 unique reports of incursions.
At Midway, the FAA reported 11 incursions during the same time frame. NASA data shows 99 reported incursions.
Krakowski said the FAA numbers are more reliable and not repetitive.
"There's no interest on behalf of the FAA and certainly me to do anything to hide any facts because if you do that you won't get to the root cause," he said.
Problems For Controllers There are several factors, Zilonis said, that contribute to the increase in reported operational errors and runway incursions. Air traffic safety controllers face fatigue, long work days and inexperience due to a retirement cap. The loss of veterans puts inexperienced trainees in the controller's seat as early as 18 months into training.
Zilonis works at Chicago's Tracon, which handles the air traffic in a 50-mile radius around Chicago. According to Zilonis, mistakes by controllers nearly doubled from 28 in 2006 to 52 in 2007. The number is on pace to rise again this year, he said.
"The amount of experience that's sitting in the control room behind the radar scopes is going down every day," Zilonis said. "We're losing three or four employees a month to retirement."
Zilonis said the training for controllers has shortened to an 18-month training process from a three- to five-year program.
Reporting Mistakes "People are afraid when they make a mistake to come forward and identify the problems," Krakowski said.
The FAA is now working on creating an anonymous reporting system, similar to the one at NASA, so controllers will not be afraid to come forward with issues.
"Without a non-punitive reporting system there's tendency for people to hide events and hide facts," Krakowski said.
Krakowski said that in an effort to improve safety, the FAA is in the process of creating a pilot awareness program and are having runways repainted where needed.
Schleiffer said the Airline Pilots Association is all for an accurate monitoring and reporting system for mistakes.
"We've got to get the reports, we've got to know what is going on," he said.
Dan Blom, Michelle Diotallevi and Annie Slezickey contributed to this report.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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