A FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane similar to this one pictured here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, nearly collided with a Southwest Airlines jet at Austin International Airport in Texas last year. Safety investigators said air traffic controller error was to blame and that key safety technology could have prevented the accident.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
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Wilfredo Lee/AP
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday that an air traffic controller’s error nearly caused two jets to collide on a foggy runway in Austin, Texas, last year.
As federal regulators grapple with a rise in dangerous accidents on runways across the country, including last week’s crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, investigators also called for critical safety technology and additional training that could have prevented the accident.
Despite heavy fog and poor visibility at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on the morning of February 4, 2023, air traffic controllers allowed two planes to use the runway at the same time: a FedEx cargo plane was cleared to land, and a Southwest Airlines jet carrying 128 passengers and crew was also cleared to take off.
Investigators said the FedEx plane aborted the landing at the last moment after the co-pilot saw the left position lights and silhouette of the Southwest plane on the runway and then saw it become airborne again as the Southwest plane continued to take off.
At their closest point, the two planes were 150 to 170 feet apart, investigators said.
“Without the heroic actions of the FedEx crew, this accident could have been much more tragic,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told the board.
Investigators say air traffic controllers in Austin failed to determine the Southwest plane’s exact location on the taxiway and mistakenly determined the plane was ready to take off when they told the pilots they were cleared to approach the runway.
“Two aircraft came within 200 feet of each other and this should never have happened,” said committee member Michael Graham.
NTSB Animation: Runway Incursion and Overflight, Southwest Airlines 708, Federal Express 1432
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“The system didn’t work in this case,” Graham said. “Without the last-minute intervention of FedEx workers, we might be having a different discussion today.”
The FedEx plane’s co-pilot, Robert Bradeen Jr., was in the stands Thursday and received thunderous applause.
The NTSB previously told a Senate committee that a shortage of air traffic controllers contributed to fatigue and distractions, but investigators said Thursday that fatigue was not a factor in the Austin crash.
But investigators faulted the Federal Aviation Administration for failing to require Austin’s airport to install technology that would detect the exact location of planes on the ground.
The NTSB said such technology may have prevented the accident. Controllers told investigators that they couldn’t see the plane from the tower and had to rely on the sound of the engines to tell them when it was ready to take off.
The FAA recently announced that it will begin installing runway intrusion detection systems at several airports, including Austin, by the end of 2025. At least 35 major U.S. airports already have some type of technology in place to prevent runway intrusions, according to the FAA.
But the NTSB says the deployment isn’t happening fast enough: Investigators are recommending that all major airports be equipped with systems that track aircraft movements, determine the distance between them, and provide air traffic controllers with visual and audio alerts of aircraft movements on the ground.
The U.S. has seen an increase in dangerous incidents on runways across the country in recent years. There were 23 of the most serious runway incursions in 2023, compared with 16 in 2022, according to FAA data.
Homendy said there have been at least seven similar accidents so far in 2024, and the NTSB is currently investigating several more.
“The sad truth is that it only takes one missed warning, one incorrect response, one missed opportunity to deploy life-saving technology to lead to tragedy,” Homendy said. “We are heading in the wrong direction.”
