Affected Runway Is Diagonal To Airports Three Parallel Strips

The FAA has restricted operations of Charlotte Douglas International Airport's (KCLT) Runway 5/23 to a very limited number of hours. The runway, which is aligned at a diagonal to KCLT's three parallel runways, had been used for noise abatement between the hours of 2300 and 0700. But the FAA says that the airport must now use only the three parallel runways between 0500 and 2300, citing "several" incidents of near collisions by airplanes attempting to "shoot the gap" while using the diagonal runways.

The FAA directed the airport to put the restrictions in place July 25. Airport officials disclosed that information to the Charlotte City Council in a memo this week.

While the centerlines do not actually intersect, the traffic patterns were cited by controllers as being a safety issue. One, who filed an anonymous complaint using NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, said "I would recommend that we do away with this configuration," according to a report in the Charlotte Observer.

In an e-mailed statement, a KCLT official said that the airport is "monitoring the impacts" of the change and looking at its options. Those living near the airport have expressed concerns about the level of noise over their neighborhoods which Runway 5/23 was used to mitigate.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.charlotteairport.com