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Editor: James T. Crouse
Profession: Aviation Accident Attorney

On August 16, 2007, the wingtip of Northwest Airlines A320 missed colliding with the nose of a West Jet B737 by 37 feet at LAX. Although this incursion was definitely a close call, no one was injured.

The investigation by the NTSB noted the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS-a ground radar system which can detect and alert controllers to potential runway conflicts) at the airport was operational at the time of the incursion, but it is unknown whether or not it activated - exactly what does this mean? Is there an investigation into the level of functionality of the AMASS at LAX? We have lives at stake here!

Earlier, on May 26 of this year, a SkyWest turbo prop and an Embracer Regional Jet nearly collided in the intersection of a runway at San Francisco International Airport - missing each other by 30-50 feet. Although no one was injured, the FAA described the runway incursion as the most serious incident of its kind in at least a decade.

Runway incursions has been on the NTSB's Most Wanted List since 1990 and is still giving the FAA an unsatisfactory rating on addressing this serious issue - the problem continues to get worse - one report states there have been 21 serious incursions between aircraft this year!
Most of the time the passengers are unware of their near death experience. A good thing? Perhaps, because they are not traumatized. Perhaps not, if they were aware they could take action - look at what's happened with passengers being kept on board the aircraft for 10-15 hours. Frieda really doesn't believe anything will be done until, WE THE PEOPLE (customers of the airline industry)demand changes. It is our lives at stake - not some executive or committee sitting in an office looking over reports and pondering the situation.

Besides the FAA failure to satisfactorily address this situation, another part of the problem is the outdated air traffic control system including which includes experienced air traffic controller - the system hasn't recovered from 1981 when President Reagan fired all the controllers when they went on strike.

Frieda wonders what catastrophe has to happen before this situation is seriously addressed. It took the headlines of the deadly collapse of a major bridge in Minneapolis to call our nation's attention to our birdges and other infra structures. Let's pray it won't take an aviation headline to call nation's attention to the danger of runway incursions.