Procedures Allowed Landings On Intersecting Runways

The Federal Office Of Special Counsel has sent a letter to White House Counsel Gregory Craig accusing the FAA of "gross mismanagement and a substantial and specific danger to public safety" for landing procedures still in place at Newark airport.

The November 19th letter is the result of a whistleblower complaint filed by an air traffic controller last year that describes procedures that allow airplanes to land on intersecting runways. Controller Raymond Adams said that allowing simultaneous approaches to the runways causes serious incursions and risks mid-air collisions.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the DOT Inspector General agreed with the allegations filed in October, and that the FAA reported 10 days later that it had instituted changes in the procedures when it apparently has not. Associate Special Counsel William E. Reukauf wrote that an investigator told the OSC "the procedures have not been implemented and FAA has not completed critical steps that FAA represented it had accomplished."

Among the changes proposed by the FAA were to have controllers on Long Island stagger arrivals into Newark to ease the pressure on controllers to keep the aircraft out of each other's way. Another was to use a software solution at Newark and on Long Island software called Converging Runway Display Aid. The program creates a computer-generated "ghost target" to project where flight paths will cross. Adams said the CRDA solution was discontinued after being in use for a short time.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said last week that "FAA safety officers wanted to make absolutely sure employees were fully trained on the equipment and parameters and go-around procedures were in place before CRDA was used regularly."

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.osc.gov