2). In addition to incursions, overruns are a runway safety concern. 5). Airport ramps  are typically small, congested areas in which departing and arriving  aircraft are serviced by ramp workers, including baggage, catering, and  fueling personnel. Several FAA  offices carry out these responsibilities, including  the Air Traffic Organization, which manages air traffic control—including  the hiring, training, and managing of more than 14,300 air traffic  controllers—and develops and maintains runway safety technology; the Office of Runway Safety, created in 1999 as part of the Air Traffic  Organization to lead and coordinate the agency’s runway safety efforts— including developing a national runway safety plan and metrics for runway  safety—and evaluate the effectiveness of runway safety activities;  the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ, which  conducts aviation safety research;  the Office of Airports—which, as of July 2007, employed 45 safety  inspectors to check airports’ compliance with regulations—develops  standards for airport signage, markings, and lighting, and manages the  agency’s Runway Safety Area Program to address runway overruns; the Office of Aviation Safety, which conducts safety inspections of airlines,  audits air traffic safety issues, and administers a program to obtain  information from pilots about the circumstances of runway incursions;  and  the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute in Oklahoma City, which conducts  aerospace medical and human factors research. According to FAA, as of May 2007, 70 percent of the 1,014  runways at 573 commercial airports in the United States substantially  comply with runway safety area standards, up from 55 percent in 2000. Technology currently being installed, ASDE- X, has experienced cost increases and schedule delays from its original  baselines, and is encountering some operational difficulties. At the same  time, additional technology to prevent runway collisions is years away  from deployment. FAA officials said that it may take 2 to 3 years before controller overtime  can be reduced at some facilities, as the agency acts to replace retiring  controllers. FAA Has Not Implemented NTSB’s Runway Safety Recommendations

FAA has not implemented any of NTSB’s six runway incursion prevention  recommendations, made in 2000, that FAA  require all airports with scheduled passenger service to deploy a ground  movement safety system that will prevent runway incursions and provide a  direct warning capability to flight crews; require that all runway crossings be authorized by specific air traffic  control clearance;  require that, when aircraft need to cross multiple runways, air traffic  controllers issue an explicit crossing instruction for each runway;   discontinue the practice of allowing departing aircraft to hold on active  runways at night or at any time when visibility conditions preclude  arriving aircraft from seeing traffic on the runway in time to initiate a safe  go-around maneuver;   adopt an ICAO landing clearance procedure that forbids multiple landing  clearances for the same runway; and require the use of ICAO phraseology for airport surface operations, and  periodically emphasize to controllers the need to use this phraseology and  to speak at reasonable rates when communicating with flight crews. Progress in Addressing Ramp Safety Is Affected by a Lack of Data and Standards, but the Industry Is Taking Action to Address these Issues

The aviation industry has made efforts in recent years to address the  incidence of ramp accidents. Lack of Complete Accident Data Hinders Efforts to Address Ramp Safety

We found no source of comprehensive data on airport ramp accidents. We reviewed FAA,  NTSB, and OSHA ramp fatality data from 2001 through 2006 and  determined that these agencies investigated 29 fatal ramp accidents during  that time. The federal government has generally taken an indirect role in addressing  ramp safety. FAA is not working with the aviation industry and OSHA to help  collect and analyze ramp accident data, which could identify the causes  and circumstances of ramp accidents, and identify corrective actions. To  accomplish this, we established the following questions: (1) What progress  is being made in addressing runway safety, and what additional measures,  if any, could be taken? We also determined the roles and responsibilities  involving runway and ramp safety of FAA, NTSB, the Occupational Safety  and Health Administration (OSHA), airports, and airlines. To determine the factors affecting progress in improving ramp safety and  what is being done by FAA and others to address those factors, we  interviewed officials from FAA, airports, and aviation industry  organizations; members of the Airport Operations Safety Panel, an aviation  industry group that issued reports on ramp accidents in 2004 and 2005;  union officials representing ramp workers and pilots; and other individuals  knowledgeable about ramp safety.
Why GAO Did This Study

While aviation accidents in the United States are relatively infrequent, recent incidents have heightened concerns about safety on airport runways and ramps. As the nation's aviation system becomes more crowded every day, increased congestion at airports may exacerbate ground safety concerns. To safely handle the anticipated larger volumes of air traffic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) to better manage air traffic both in the air and on the ground. GAO was asked to evaluate (1) the progress being made in addressing runway safety and what additional measures, if any, could be taken and (2) the factors affecting progress in improving ramp safety and what is being done by FAA and others to address those factors. We reviewed runway and ramp safety data, interviewed agency officials and industry stakeholders, and surveyed experts.

What GAO Found

FAA and aviation stakeholders have taken steps to address runway and ramp safety, including deploying and testing technology designed to prevent runway incursions, which occur when aircraft enter the runway without authorization, and overruns, which occur when aircraft run off the ends of runways; helping to change airport layout, markings, signage, and lighting; and providing training for pilots and air traffic controllers. In addition, FAA has made progress in addressing runway overruns and reports that 70 percent of the runways at U.S. commercial airports substantially comply with runway safety area standards, up from 55 percent in 2000. However, the rate of runway incursions has not decreased over the last 5 years. In addition, FAA has not prepared a national runway safety plan since 2002, despite agency policy that it be updated every 2 to 3 years, resulting in uncoordinated efforts within the agency. Runway safety technology currently being installed is experiencing some operational difficulties with its alerting function, while additional technology to prevent runway collisions is years away from deployment. FAA also lacks data on runway overruns that could be used to analyze the causes and circumstances of such incidents. Air traffic controller fatigue, which may result from regularly working overtime, continues to be a matter of concern for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates transportation accidents, and other aviation stakeholders. Efforts to improve safety in airport ramp areas, where departing and arriving aircraft are serviced by baggage, catering, and fueling personnel, are hindered by a lack of complete accident data and standards for ground handling, but the aviation industry is taking steps to address these problems with the goal of reducing ramp accidents. Data from 2001 through 2006 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which investigates occupational accidents, NTSB, and FAA indicated that these agencies had investigated 29 fatal ramp accidents during that time. The majority of the fatalities in these accidents were ramp workers. GAO found no comprehensive nonfatal injury data on ramp accidents and neither federal nor industrywide standards for ramp operations. The federal government has generally taken an indirect role overseeing ramp safety; airlines and airports typically control the ramp areas using their own policies and procedures. Meanwhile, some airlines and airports have initiated their own efforts to address ramp safety, and aviation organizations have begun collecting ramp accident data.