Aviation Safety: Opportunities Exist for FAA to Improve Airport Terminal Area Safety Efforts
Fast Facts
Air travel in the U.S. is among the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses still occur. They can happen in the air, and in the areas around airport terminals—runways, taxiways, and ramps. For example, in 2017 at San Francisco International Airport, an airplane came within 60 feet of landing on a taxiway occupied by four airplanes full of passengers before the pilot pulled up and attempted another landing.
We found that FAA data on terminal area incidents is incomplete, which makes it harder for FAA to accurately analyze and prepare for these incidents. We recommended that FAA develop processes to improve its terminal area data.
Dramatized Example of a Potential Runway Incident as a Plane Approaches an Occupied Runway
Plane approaching runway with truck on it
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) uses data to analyze some types of incidents in airport “terminal areas”—runways, taxiways, and ramps. For example, FAA uses data to analyze runway “incursions”—the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the runway. According to FAA data, the rate of reported runway incursions nearly doubled from fiscal years 2011 through 2018, with most of this increase due to a rise in reports of less severe incursions, or those without immediate safety consequences. However, GAO found that FAA has not identified or removed all duplicates from its data on runway “excursions”—when an aircraft veers off or overruns a runway—which limits FAA's ability to accurately analyze these incidents. Additionally, FAA does not use data to analyze incidents that occur in ramp areas—the parts of terminal areas where aircraft are prepared for departure and arrival—where injuries to workers and damage to aircraft can occur. Without a process to leverage accurate excursion and ramp incident data, FAA may not be able to assess the risk these incidents pose to passengers, airport staff, and others.
Example of a Potential Runway Incursion as a Plane Approaches an Occupied Runway
FAA, airports, and airlines have implemented multiple efforts to improve terminal area safety, but FAA has not assessed the effectiveness of many of its efforts. For example, FAA has funded multiple technologies to improve runway safety, such as Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X)—a ground surveillance system that enables air traffic controllers to track landing and departing aircraft and alerts controllers of potential collisions. However, FAA has not assessed the effectiveness of ASDE-X. Similarly, FAA has not assessed the effectiveness of its Runway Safety Program, whereby FAA staff, along with local airport stakeholders, provide data and support to local air traffic managers to help identify and manage terminal area safety incidents. FAA has taken steps to evaluate some of its terminal-area safety efforts, such as tracking the number of runway excursions safely stopped by a lightweight, crushable concrete designed to stop or greatly slow an aircraft that overruns the runway. However, without assessing how all of FAA's efforts contribute to its goal of improving runway and taxiway safety, FAA cannot determine the extent to which it is targeting its limited resources to the most effective strategies.
Why GAO Did This Study
U.S airspace system is one of the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses at and around U.S. terminal areas still occur. FAA oversees the safety of runways and taxiways and works with industry partners—including airlines, airports, pilots, and others—to improve safety in these areas. Despite FAA's continued efforts, the number of reported terminal area incidents has increased over time.
GAO was asked to review various issues related to runway safety and to update its prior work on airport terminal areas. This report examines: (1) the extent to which FAA uses data to analyze terminal area incidents and (2) efforts FAA and others have implemented to improve terminal area safety, and how FAA assesses their effectiveness. GAO analyzed FAA data; interviewed officials from 10 airports selected based on high runway incident rates in the past 3 years, among other factors; and interviewed federal and industry officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making five recommendations including that FAA identify and remove duplicate excursion data, develop processes to analyze ramp area incidents, and establish a plan to assess the effectiveness of its terminal area safety efforts.
FAA concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Aviation Administration | The Runway Safety Manager should develop a process to identify and remove duplicate excursion records. (Recommendation 1) | The U.S airspace system is one of the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses at and around U.S. terminal areas-runways, taxiways, and ramps-still occur. Runway "excursions" are one type of these incidents, which occur when an aircraft veers off the side, or overruns the end, of a runway, and can result in serious injury, death, or property damage. FAA collects excursion data from two FAA databases and one National Transportation Safety Board database. In 2019, GAO reported that there were likely duplicate records in FAA's excursion data as a single excursion could be reported in more than one of these three sources. Although GAO did not have enough identifying information in... the excursion data FAA provided to confirm the number of duplicate reports, GAO's analysis of excursion data did identify possible duplicates. Further, despite containing possible duplicates, FAA used excursion data, and data on other terminal-area incidents, to measure the relative riskiness of these incidents by assigning a different severity weight to each incident depending on its proximity to a fatal accident. Federal standards for internal control state that data should be appropriate, current, complete, and accurate. FAA officials said that they did not know how many duplicate records there were-and that they did not have an automated way to identify (and remove) all duplicates-but that the duplicates were likely to be minor, lower-risk events. However, without a process to identify duplicates, FAA was not able to verify that this statement was true, and therefore could not accurately assess and mitigate the risk excursions posed to terminal area safety. As such, GAO recommended that FAA should develop a process to identify and remove duplicate excursion records. In January 2022, GAO confirmed that FAA had taken actions to identify and remove duplicate excursion records from the data it collects on surface incidents. Specifically, FAA identifies duplicate records by applying additional filtering logic to match incidents with the same date, aircraft type, location, or other parameters, and removes duplicates it identifies. This process is automated. FAA also performs a manual check for duplicate records. By taking these additional actions to identify and remove duplicate excursion records, FAA is better able to assess the risk these incidents pose to passengers, airport staff, and others, which met the intent of GAO's recommendation.
View More |
| Federal Aviation Administration | The Runway Safety Manager should take steps to analyze data on ramp area incidents in FAA's new surface safety metric. (Recommendation 2) | The U.S airspace system is one of the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses at and around U.S. terminal areas-runways, taxiways, and ramps-still occur. Specifically, ramps are typically small, congested parts of the terminal area in which departing and arriving aircraft are serviced by ramp workers, who include baggage, catering, and fueling personnel. The Flight Safety Foundation, which has collected its own data on ramp safety, estimated that each year 27,000 ramp accidents and incidents occur worldwide and can be costly due to effects such as damage to aircraft and schedule disruptions. GAO has also previously reported that these areas can be dangerous for ground workers...
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| Federal Aviation Administration |
Priority Rec.
The Runway Safety Manager should establish a plan to assess the effectiveness of all of FAA's terminal area-safety efforts, including Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) and the Runway Safety Program. (Recommendation 3) |
The U.S airspace system is one of the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses at and around U.S. terminal areas-runways, taxiways, and ramps-still occur. In fiscal year 2018, FAA recorded over 1,800 incidents of planes, vehicles, or pedestrians entering runways when they were not authorized to do so. In 2019, GAO reported that while FAA, airports, and airlines have implemented multiple efforts to improve runway, taxiway, and ramp safety, FAA had not assessed the effectiveness of these efforts, and may be missing opportunities to improve its terminal-area safety efforts. For example, FAA had funded multiple technologies to improve runway safety, such as Airport Surface...
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| Federal Aviation Administration | The Administrator of FAA should require Flight Standards to share the results of its investigations with the Runway Safety Group, in a timely manner. (Recommendation 4) | The U.S airspace system is one of the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses at and around U.S. terminal areas-runways, taxiways, and ramps-still occur . In fiscal year 2018, FAA recorded over 1,800 incidents of planes, vehicles, or pedestrians entering runways when they were not authorized to do so. In 2019, GAO reported that FAA, airports, and airlines have implemented multiple efforts, including technologies, to improve runway, taxiway, and ramp safety ; FAA's efforts, which are coordinated by the Runway Safety Group, focus primarily on runway and taxiway safety. However, FAA may be missing opportunities to improve its terminal-area safety efforts, including improving...
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| Federal Aviation Administration | The Administrator of FAA should require air traffic control managers to share information on terminal area incidents, such as operational incidents and pilot deviations, with airport operators, in a timely manner. (Recommendation 5) | The U.S airspace system is one of the safest in the world, but incidents and near misses at and around U.S. terminal areas-runways, taxiways, and ramps-still occur. In fiscal year 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded over 1,800 incidents of planes, vehicles, or pedestrians entering runways when they were not authorized to do so. In 2019, GAO reported that while FAA, airports, and airlines have implemented multiple efforts to improve runway, taxiway, and ramp safety, FAA may still be missing opportunities to improve these efforts, including improving communication between FAA and airports. For example, selected airport operators GAO interviewed reported that they may...
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