National Runway Safety Plan 2009-2011

Message from the
Office of Safety
Vice President

Safety is our first priority in aviation. This is true in all phases of flight, but particularly so in the surface environment because aircraft are in such close proximity to other aircraft and obstacles such as vehicles, pedestrians and airport structures and equipment.
Because of this, the Federal Aviation Administration has dedicated millions of dollars to enhancing the safety of runways. The Runway Safety Office within the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Office of Safety is responsible for coordinating FAA’s efforts with pilots, air traffic controllers, airport and airline operators and other interested members of the aviation industry.
Through the hard work of many individuals and organizations, we have made progress in reducing the rate of the most serious types of runway incursions by 55 percent since 2001. We are meeting the goals for the rate of runway incursions set forth in the FAA Flight Plan and, indeed, exceeding them.
Last year, we began a non-punitive voluntary safety reporting program for air traffic controllers. We also started crew resource management training to raise awareness of factors that can cause errors in air traffic control.
This plan covers both recent accomplishments and encouraging trends toward the goal of reducing the frequency and severity of runway incursions, as well as initiatives designed to bring about further improvement. We look forward to continued collaboration with airlines, airports, air traffic control and pilot unions and aerospace manufacturers to further curb runway incursions.
After all, your safe flight is our business.
Sincerely,

Robert Tarter Vice President Office of Safety

Table of Contents
Executive Summary
4 Mission
5 Introduction
6 Runway Safety Performance 7 Runway Safety Program 11 Future Directions 21 Relationship Between Documents 25 Appendix A: Acronyms 26 Appendix B: Glossary 27 Appendix C: External Entity Recommendations 31 Appendix D: ICAO Runway Incursion Definition and 37 Severity Classification
Cover photograph by Jon Ross.

1.0  Executive Summary

The aviation industry in the United States continues to enjoy a period of unprecedented safety. This is true not only in the air, but on the ground as well. Serious runway incursions, those involving a significant loss of separation between two aircraft and where the risk of a collision is considerable, are trending favorably. In fiscal year (FY) 2007, these types of incursions were down 23 percent from the previous year and at their lowest level since the Federal Aviation Administration began tracking runway incursions. Serious runway incursions are down 55 percent since 2001.
Activity at the almost 600 towered airports totaled 61.15 million operations in 2007. FAA Aerospace Forecast Fiscal Years 2008 – 2025 predicts this will grow to 84.0 million operations by FY 2025. This growth puts continued pressure on facilities and personnel and drives the need for continuous improvement in the area of safety.
　
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