LOS ANGELES AIRPORT EARNS FAA RECOGNITION FOR NATIONAL LEADERSHIP, EXTENSIVE TEAM PROGRAM IN RUNWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS

Runway incursions at LAX reduced by 33 percent from 12 to 8 in two years;

Contrasts with nationwide increase of 33 percent

(Los Angeles, California – January 25, 2001) Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) extensive runway safety improvement program has earned a commendation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) because these efforts produced a 33 percent drop (from 12 to eight) in runway incursion incidents over the last two years.

This contrasts markedly with FAA’s latest report of a 33 percent increase nationwide in the number of incursions – making it one of the agency’s top priorities to resolve. LAX’s reduction also exceeds FAA’s national goal to reduce such incidents by 15 percent annually.

Comparing the eight incidents with the more than 779,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings in 2000, LAX would rank 25th among all U.S. airports. None of the runway incursions have involved areas under airport management, such as airfield maintenance, runway-taxiway intersection markings and signage, and lighting.

In a letter to Los Angeles World Airports, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said, "LAX’s superb, wide-ranging program to enhance runway safety is highly commendable. It is characterized by a team approach beginning with the leadership of the airport authority and (air traffic control) tower management, the significant programs developed by tower management, the positive response by pilots, and the active participation by tower personnel."

The FAA defines a runway incursion as "any occurrence at an airport involving an aircraft, vehicle, person, or object on the ground, that creates a collision hazard or results in the loss of separation with an aircraft taking off, intending to takeoff, landing or intending to land." Loss of separation means aircraft involved in the incident were closer than allowed by air traffic requirements.

Garvey added: "The LAX team is to be congratulated for identifying problems in surface safety and focusing its attention and resources on creating solutions. I am pleased to see a wide array of approaches at LAX to solve the problems in runway safety."

Upon receipt of the letter, LAWA Executive Director Lydia H. Kennard praised the two-year effort by the FAA air traffic control tower and staff, LAX‘s Airport Manager Stephen Yee and his operations staff, LAWA’s Construction and Maintenance and Project Management Divisions, and the airlines operating at LAX in achieving the 33 percent reduction.

Kennard said, "Instilling and maintaining the traveling public’s confidence in our ability to operate a safe and efficient airport is of primary importance to all airport, airline and air traffic control personnel at LAX." She added, "Cooperation between all parties was key to LAX’s successful effort to reduce runway incursions. The cooperative effort led to installation of airfield improvements, conducting industry safety conferences to recommend new procedures, emphasis on increasing awareness by all parties, and a study by NASA to simulate prospective solutions."

LAWA is currently spending $5 million in safety improvement projects at LAX that exceed FAA requirements. These projects include additional airfield lighting equipment, taxiway markings, and signage. Its airfield operations personnel conduct familiarization programs for airline employees working on the airfield, as well as produce and distribute safety posters about current operational issues.

Working with the FAA and its air traffic controllers, and the airlines and their pilots to enhance safety at LAX, LAWA co-sponsored a major western regional conference last March with the FAA on improving runway safety. This first-of-its-kind conference resulted in a discussion of incursions and other safety issues at U.S. airports at a National Runway Safety Summit in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, LAWA has joined with the FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to share the cost of a $485,000 study to enhance runway safety at LAX. The study is underway with scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, CA, where NASA maintains a one-of-kind simulation facility, called Future Flight Central. The facility is capable of providing a realistic visual model of an airport environment where air traffic controllers and pilots can test and evaluate current safety and operational procedures, as well as prospective preventive measures, without harm to anyone or causing flight delays. LAX officials believe the center’s ability to simulate the interaction between procedures used by air traffic controllers and pilots can enhance future safety at the airport.