Measures Aim To Reduce Incursions

Officials with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Massport) and the FAA announced Tuesday new measures intended to curb the risk of runway incursions at Boston's Logan International Airport.

The new regulations -- which include limiting the number of runways active at one time for departures, additional ATC training, and accelerated taxiway construction -- are all intended to reduce the likelihood of aircraft crossing paths at the infamous airport.

According to the Associated Press, Logan recorded 16 runway incursions from October 1, 2004 through Sept. 30 of this year -- the most of any major US airport.

On June 9, an Aer Lingus A330 came within 106 feet of a US Airways 737 as both aircraft were cleared for takeoff, by different controllers, on intersecting runways. According to the NTSB report on the incident, the 737 passed under the A330 as the Airbus lifted off.

While the 40-odd measures -- none of which have specific timetables, but are instead labelled as short-, mid-, or long-term projects -- should help address some issues at Logan, they are by no means the final solutions to the problem.

"We would be living in a dream world if we thought this would be a cure all," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters.

While some measures -- such as updating pilot maps to show "hot spots" where previous incursions have occurred -- can be implemented reasonably soon, others are likely far down the road -- for example, a 3-D simulator of the airport that would allowing controllers to run ground and air traffic simulations.

And some, such as the idea to limit takeoffs to only a few runways at a time, are likely to be problematic at an airport that handles about 1,250 daily arrivals and departures.

One long-term goal that shows promise is to implement a ground radar warning system, incorporating warning lights showing pilots which runways are active -- much like a traffic signal. Such a device is currently undergoing testing at Dallas-Fort Worth International, another airport with a history of runway incursions.

FMI: www.faa.gov/runwaysafety/