Summit admonishes FAA for slow response on runway safety

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in co-operation with the American Association of Airport Executives and MITRE Corporation, held the first-ever International Runway Safety Summit in December 2009 in Washington, DC.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah Hersman and Captain Robert Bragg, the last surviving flight crew member involved in the 1977 runway collision of two B-747 jumbo jets at Tenerife, headlined the conference.

The agenda included discussions and reviews of runway safety's most critical issues, including human factors, airport layouts, technology, cockpit and air traffic control procedures and safety management systems. Panels assessed runway safety progress to date, initiatives under way, and plans being made for future environments.

Hersman admonished the FAA for moving too slowly on runway safety. She said the agency has failed to act on runway recommendations repeatedly made by the NTSB: "It has taken over nine years to achieve partial acceptance of recommendations made in an area, runway safety, that is viewed as critical by both the FAA and the NTSB – and some of the FAA's recent responses to the NTSB on those July 2000 recommendations have asked for more time for further analysis. We really need to do better than that."