FAA and NTSB reports serious “close calls” at U.S. airports

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged on Wednesday Mar. 15 that there has been an “uptick in serious close calls” at U.S. airports, after reports emerged of another near collision at a Washington, D.C., airport last week. “Initial information suggests that more mistakes than usual are happening across the system, on runways, at gates while planes are pushing back, in control towers, and on flight decks,” Buttigieg said at a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety summit.

There have been at least seven close calls this year confirmed by the FAA or the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with Buttigieg saying that the U.S. is on track to have more than 20 close calls in 2023. Here are seven close calls on U.S. runways so far this year:

Jan. 13: John F. Kennedy International Airport A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to abort its takeoff midway at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in January as an American Airlines flight crossed the same runway. Air traffic controllers scrambled to alert both flights, which eventually halted about 1,400 feet from one another. According to a preliminary report from NTSB, the American Airlines flight crossed the runway without prior clearance from air traffic control.

Jan. 23: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu saw a near collision in late January when a United Airlines flight improperly crossed a runway as a cargo plane was attempting to land, the FAA said. The two planes came within about 1,100 feet of each other. However, no “evasive action” was ultimately needed as the cargo plane was able to exit the runway early, according to an NTSB report on the incident.

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