On March 27, 1977, the worst accident in aviation history occurred when a KLM 747 on takeoff ran into a Pan American 747 which was back taxiing on the runway in Tenerife, Canary Islands after landing. 583 people lost their lives in the crash. The horrific crash was caused by what is referred to as a “runway incursion”. Simply defined, this is an aircraft operating on an active runway without clearance from the tower or ground control.
On Friday, January 13th, there was a very serious runway incursion at JFK International Airport in New York, which might easily taken the lives of the hundreds of passengers and crew on board the aircraft involved.
Having flown numerous models of airliners out of JFK from 1964 through 1999 I am very familiar with that airport, its assets and its limitations. There are many of both.
On the positive side, it was the first major airport in this country to have separate terminals for the various major airlines. American, Eastern, Pan American, TWA and United all had their own facilities. Others, such as Delta, Northwest, Northeast and others, shared terminals. So did all the foreign carriers, in the International Arrivals building.
In addition, the “Big Five” (American, Eastern, Pan Am, TWA and United) all had large hangars and catering facilities where their aircraft were maintained and thousands of inflight meals were prepared daily.
As the airline industry expanded, airports world wide increased their capacity to handle the additional traffic with more ramp space, taxiways and of course runways. Airplanes, from the time of the Wright Flyer, takeoff and land into the wind, so runway construction is dictated by the prevailing winds of the location. Since those frequently change seasonally, having a large footprint to build on is vital.
The runways at JFK have been constructed to maximize departures and arrivals regardless of the wind direction and velocity on a given day. As can be imagined, the taxiway patterns constructed to access these runways are VERY complex.
Aircraft of various sizes and weights require runways of different length to operate, depending on the wind speed and direction. on a given day. Therefore it, might be necessary to utilize multiple runways, taking off and landing in different directions, to efficiently utilize the capacity of the airport at any given time. That means that it might be necessary for aircraft to taxi across a runway which is currently being used for landings and takeoffs, ie: an “active runway”. The possible safety implications are obvious, and they are compounded by the time of day and weather conditions.
Added to the mix at large international airports is the problem of language. Years ago it was agreed that to prevent a modern day “Tower of Babel” situation in aircraft communications, that the international language for air traffic control would be English. Whether en route or in the terminal area or during airport operations, both the various air traffic controllers and the pilots are supposed to converse only in English.
Although that is generally the case world wide, sometimes it is violated, and the local language will be used between ATC and nationals of that country. That creates a dangerous situation since all pilots should be aware of what is being said by other pilots, to avoid unintentional conflicts, such as two aircraft being cleared to the same holding point and altitude.
Now add the additional problem of language proficiency and accent. That, and the complexity and speed of speech of the clearance being given by the controller, and you have a potential problem developing. A problem which could have very serious, even fatal consequences.
To help alleviate this situation, many large and complex international airports, such as London Heathrow for instance, have developed very sophisticated taxi procedures, with systems of centerline taxiway lighting which can literally lead an aircraft to its assigned gate on landing, and to the assigned takeoff runway on departure. This system includes sequentially activated green centerline taxiway lighting and red “Hold” bars which must be extinguished before the aircraft can proceed. This includes ALL points where a runway can be crossed. A similar concept was tried at JFK, but the local controllers felt it inhibited their ability to move traffic efficiently, and it was not in use on 1/13/23 to the best of my knowledge.
Meanwhile, we must examine where money is being spent on our commercial airports. Mostly on terminals, roadways and parking lots, that’s where. Not on taxiways and runways, including the systems described above. There is an even more serious situation when you look closely at what is going on at the Department of Transportation.
In recent years there have been far more unqualified individuals appointed to high positions in various federal agencies than was previously the case. These “political” appointees then proceed to implement their personal agendas, which might go against what is really needed in their department. A classic example of that is the DOT.
When President Biden appointed Peter Buttigieg to the position of U.S. Secretary of Transportation, he selected a man who had virtually no expertise in that area. Buttigieg had served as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana (his home town) from 2012 to 2020. How that was a justification to have him head the DOT is beyond me. It is my hope that he will be subpoenaed to appear before a House committee to explain the breakdowns in our air transportation system and why he has been AWOL, either on “Paternity/Maternity Leave” or on vacation in Portugal when several major events took place.
Do we need a fiery crash which kills or maims hundreds of passengers and crew before legislation is enacted which mandates that our airports are upgraded to acceptable international standards? This is often referred to as “Tombstone Legislation”, but is not necessary in this case. We already know what needs to be fixed and how. We just need competent leadership at the top of the DOT to direct that it be done. “Mayor Pete” is just not up to that job.