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Near Miss at JFK [1]
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Date: 2023-01-15
Sounds like there was a very close call on Friday.
NPR Story on Near Miss
This was a runway incursion, in this case an American Airlines 777 aircraft taxied across the active departing runway where a Delta 737 was executing its takeoff roll. The tower controller cancelled the 737’s takeoff clearance, and they were able to stop in time to avoid a collision. But it was too close — about 1000 feet. That’s called luck.
The incident will be extensively investigated to determine the root cause and contributing factors. We will learn why this happened. In the audio released, the 777 crew attempts to confirm, after the incident occurred, that they had been cleared to cross. The controller replies that they were using runway 4L for departure, but the 777 is currently holding short of 31L. That’s 90 degrees off the heading of the expected departure runway, and would indeed require crossing 4L to get there. Not where the 777 was expected to be at all.
For background, runway numbers are just the direction on the compass divided by 10, sometimes followed by a letter to indicate Left, Right, and occasionally Center. So 4L is the left runway on a 40 degree northeast heading. 31L is the left runway on a 310 degree northwest heading.
It is important to not jump to any conclusions about fault here. This could be crew confusion, a ground or tower controller error, or some combination. There could also be equipment faults at issue, including surface movement radar and/or the lights that are installed at most airports to prevent just such an incursion.
As we’ve seen in recent days, our systems are old and in need of investment. Demands on controllers at a busy airport like JFK are substantial. And air traffic is way up. And we’ve been warned about the risk of runway incursions for years.
The worst accident in the history of aviation was a runway incursion, with 2 747s colliding on the runway at Tenerife.
Tenerife Airport Accident
I suspect we’ll hear more about the need to invest in more preventative technologies. It’s way past time to begin modernizing all of our infrastructure at a much faster rate. And we’ll probably hear a lot about how much stress we’re putting on the system as a whole.
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