A cluster of serious runway incursions at U.S airports early this year can be traced to shortfalls in the staffing, facilities and technology required by the nation’s air traffic control system — shortfalls that are contributing to an “erosion in the margin of safety,” an independent safety review team says.
In a 52-page report submitted Wednesday to Administrator Michael Whitaker of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Airspace System (NAS) Safety Review Team (SRT) traced the problems, which extend to equipment and process integrity, to “inadequate, inconsistent funding.”
“Although stakeholders in the aviation system continue to exercise heightened vigilance and utilize available voluntary safety reporting programs following the incidents in 2023, the current erosion in the margin of safety in the NAS caused by the confluence of these challenges is rendering the current level of safety unsustainable,” said the SRT, chaired by…
