A winter of close calls on US flights launches a renewed focus on safety in aviation
Started by Milton Shikuku
Posted 03/18/2023 10:11PM
Milton Shikuku
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U.S. airlines, aviation experts and regulators are reexamining policies, practices and procedures after several alarming incidents in recent months have raised the specter of a major tragedy.
Commercial aviation is famously safe and safety-conscious, and the "Swiss cheese" safety approach — in which multiple layers and redundancies ensure there's no single point of failure in any safety practice — prevented any of the incidents from turning into catastrophes.
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Still, each incident was too close for comfort in an industry that prioritizes safety above all else. That's why on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration convened aviation leaders near Washington, D.C., for a Safety Summit. The summit aimed to review issues and effectively issue a wake-up call.
"It's not an academic exercise," acting FAA administrator Billy Nolan said. "Six near misses — we've taken these six near misses and treated them as if they've happened."
Overall, panel participants agreed that a rush of new workers following a surge in coronavirus pandemic-era travel demand in recent years has contributed to the challenges.
"It’s not just new pilots. It’s new everybody: [Air traffic] controllers, flight attendants, ground people," said Jason Ambrosi, president of the major pilots' union Air Line Pilots Association. "In this post-COVID-19 rapid recovery, there’s so much going on."
In one of the more alarming incidents, a FedEx 767 was cleared to land at the same time that a Southwest 737 was preparing to take off from the same runway. The FedEx pilots reconfirmed their clearance but instead initiated a "go-around" as the Southwest flight departed. The two planes may have come within as little as 100 feet of each other, National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said.
Commercial aviation is famously safe and safety-conscious, and the "Swiss cheese" safety approach — in which multiple layers and redundancies ensure there's no single point of failure in any safety practice — prevented any of the incidents from turning into catastrophes.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.
Still, each incident was too close for comfort in an industry that prioritizes safety above all else. That's why on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration convened aviation leaders near Washington, D.C., for a Safety Summit. The summit aimed to review issues and effectively issue a wake-up call.
"It's not an academic exercise," acting FAA administrator Billy Nolan said. "Six near misses — we've taken these six near misses and treated them as if they've happened."
Overall, panel participants agreed that a rush of new workers following a surge in coronavirus pandemic-era travel demand in recent years has contributed to the challenges.
"It’s not just new pilots. It’s new everybody: [Air traffic] controllers, flight attendants, ground people," said Jason Ambrosi, president of the major pilots' union Air Line Pilots Association. "In this post-COVID-19 rapid recovery, there’s so much going on."
In one of the more alarming incidents, a FedEx 767 was cleared to land at the same time that a Southwest 737 was preparing to take off from the same runway. The FedEx pilots reconfirmed their clearance but instead initiated a "go-around" as the Southwest flight departed. The two planes may have come within as little as 100 feet of each other, National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said.
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