The number of serious runway incursions at U.S. airports has declined dramatically over the past nearly 20 years, but has been trending higher since 2013, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) statistics.
A runway incursion, according to FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization, is any unauthorized presence on a runway, regardless of whether an aircraft, vehicle or pedestrian presents a potential conflict with another aircraft authorized to land, take off or taxi on a runway.
There are four categories of incursions, with A and B being the most serious. FAA defines a Category A incursion as a serious incident in which a collision was narrowly avoided. Category B is defined as an incident in which separation decreases and there is a significant potential for collision that may result in a time-critical corrective/evasive response to avoid a collision.
In fiscal year 2000, which ended on Sept. 30, 2000, there were a total of 67 Category A and B incursion…
