JWA near top in runway traffic errors

June Casagrande

A report showing the airport had the fourth-highest number of runway

traffic errors over a three-year period belies a trend that aviation

officials are calling good news: The airport has shown a marked

decrease in runway errors in the last year and has a low rate of near

misses.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Runway Safety

released a report on Wednesday comparing “incursions” at large- and

medium-sized airports in the United States. John Wayne Airport had

the fourth-highest number in the country, with 31 incursions from

fiscal 1999 through 2002. Los Angeles International Airport had the

highest number: 34.

Incursions are traffic errors. They are recorded whenever a plane,

truck or other vehicle on the runway enters a space it shouldn’t be

in. A common incursion occurs when the nose of a plane waiting at a

runway intersection protrudes slightly into the intersection. When

another plane or vehicle is nearby and such an error could cause a

collision, the incursion is considered serious and given an A

ranking. Incursions that present no risk of collision are ranked as C

or D.

FAA and JWA officials say the distinction is important because the

number of near misses at the airport is actually very low. In the

three-year study period, the airport had one serious incursion or

“near miss.” The others were all C or D.

“If anything, this is good news for John Wayne,” FAA spokesman

Donn Walker said, noting that incursion reports at the airport have

fallen significantly in the last year. “The really important thing to

notice is that in the last year, John Wayne’s rate of incursions fell

by two-thirds -- from 12 to four. So they’ve made a lot of progress.

... In 2001, when their incursions spiked, there were no near

misses.”

JWA spokeswoman Ann McCarley attributed the airport’s improvements

to increased education for pilots and other airport workers and also

to larger signs and clearer markings on the runways, McCarley said.

“In the last year, 31% of the total decrease of runway incursions

nationwide occurred at three airports, and John Wayne was one of

those airports. So we were pleased,” McCarley said. “It’s an ongoing

educational process. We look at every incident.”

The federal survey included data through September 2002. McCarley

said that, from October 2002 until Friday, only one incursion had

been recorded and it was ranked D.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].