By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Transportation Safety Board found incorrect assumptions on the part of an air traffic controller led to the February 2023 near-collision between a FedEx (NYSE:) plane and a Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) jet in Austin, Texas.
The two planes came within about 170 feet (52 m) of each other when the FedEx Boeing (NYSE:) 767 was forced to fly over the Southwest 737-700 to avoid a crash in poor visibility conditions. It was one of at least half a dozen near-miss incidents last year that raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control.
An air traffic controller had cleared both planes to use the same runway. He told the NTSB in an interview released last year he had assumed the Southwest plane would have already departed before the FedEx plane landed given his “expectation bias” that Southwest planes were quick to depart.
The NTSB on Thursday found the probable cause of the incident was the controller’s incorrect assumption the Southwest airplane would take off before the FedEx plane arrived on the same runway. It also cited lack of situational awareness along with lack of low visibility training and the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to install safety technology.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the board wants low-visibility training for controllers and faster deployment of technology at airports and cockpit alerts to prevent future near collisions.
Homendy noted the number of serious runway incursions jumped sharply in 2023 but has fallen in the first part of 2024. She added the NTSB is reviewing several recent incidents.
“This could have really ended up in catastrophe and the death of 133 people,” Homendy said. “This should serve as a wakeup call to so many — these are warning signs and that means take action now.”
The NTSB also said the Southwest flight crew contributed to the incident by failing to notify the controller they would need more time prior to takeoff. Southwest said it shares the NTSB’s “commitment to the mission of continuously improving safety.”
The NTSB investigates transportation incidents and crashes to determine the probable cause and makes safety recommendations but is not a regulator and does not impose fines or penalties.
The FAA said the rate of serious runway incursions in the first three months of 2024 decreased by 59% “and the FAA and the aviation community continue to pursue the goal of zero serious close calls.”
The Cancun, Mexico-bound Southwest flight, with 123 passengers and five crew aboard, safely departed. There were three crew members on the FedEx plane.
The NTSB raised significant concerns about training of FAA air traffic controllers in low visibility conditions like those in the Austin incident. The NTSB staff is calling for additional training as well as additional communications between controllers and flight crews.
The Austin control tower had not conducted training on low visibility operations during at least the two years before the incident, the NTSB said.
The FAA is struggling to address a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers and has been forced to waive minimum flight requirements in New York as a result. At several facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover shortages. The FAA agency is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets.
The board is again urging the FAA to install surface detection technology to detect near miss incidents at all major airports, which it has done for more than 30 years. Austin did not have the surface detection technology in 2023. The FAA will install its Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) system in Austin by June 30.
