STATEMENT OF
BILL WITHYCOMB,
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR
WESTERN PACIFIC REGION,
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
BEFORE THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE,
AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE
ON
AIRSPACE REDESIGN OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
AND RUNWAY INCURSIONS AT LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL
ON MARCH 20, 2006.
Chairman Mica, Members of Congress
I am pleased to welcome you to southern California and to discuss with you aviation issues that are important to this region. Specifically, you have asked that I update you on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) airspace redesign efforts in southern California and the status of ongoing efforts to reduce runway incursions at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The FAA is well aware of the importance of southern California to the effectiveness of the overall national airspace system (NAS). We are working on these issues and several others to preserve the safety and efficiency that is critical to not only the citizens of California, but the nation as a whole.
The airspace over southern California is highly complex. It includes high volume traffic in the north – south corridors, military airspace and eight busy airports located in close proximity to one another. There are over two million operations a year in approximately 10,000 miles of airspace. Post September 11, the total annual operations for the region remain lower than pre-September 11 levels, especially with respect to operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). In recent years, the number of annual operations has remained fairly constant and the number of delays has decreased, but FAA anticipates that there will be significant growth in the area that must be factored into future planning.
In June 2004, FAA published a report entitled, “Capacity Needs in the National Airspace System: An Analysis of Airport and Metropolitan Area Demand and Operational Capacity in the Future.” It identified a need for additional capacity in southern California in the 2013 to 2020 timeframe. This is premised on the anticipated growth of both the population and wealth of the region in addition to the expectation that the use of very light jets will increase and that there will be more low cost operations. Because the airports in the region are land locked, the opportunity for capacity expansion lies largely in airspace redesign. Unlike other parts of the country where FAA has worked on airspace redesign because of existing congestion problems impacting the NAS, this is not yet the case in southern California. Therefore, we have the opportunity to get out in front of the problem instead of waiting for the situation to develop.
In order to prepare for the future, FAA has identified four program projects to support anticipated growth; southern California redesign, central California redesign, bay to basin redesign, and high altitude redesign. For purposes of this hearing, I will focus on the planned southern California redesign.
The southern California redesign has three parts that will ultimately result in a four to twelve million dollar annual savings due to reduced delays and additional throughput. The first part of the project has largely been completed. It optimizes the departure and arrival flows of LAX. In September of 2004, FAA modified the LAX departure climb to permit a steady climb to more than 5,000 feet. Previously, the aircraft would climb then level off, then climb and level off. This change reduced the number of LAX departure transmissions with air traffic control because it was a single direction to climb steadily. It also removed an offshore conflict with a north - south route flown by general aviation aircraft. In February of this year, FAA announced the LAX arrival enhancement which will become operational in April. This will permit aircraft to follow the same path over the ground, but on a lower gradient which will result in arrivals being quieter, burning less fuel, and producing less wear and tear on the aircraft.
The second part of the redesign is the actual redesign of the airspace. The goal here is to take a “complete clean sheet” view of the airspace to determine how things should look if we were starting from scratch. At the center of the redesign would be how best to feed aircraft into LAX. The traffic at other airports would be optimized as they fit into the plan for LAX. This redesign project is very ambitious and it will take several years to scope, design and conduct the required environmental analysis and review before implementation can take place. As this Committee is well aware, projects of this size and sensitivity must achieve industry and community consensus in order to be successfully implemented. There is a lot of work ahead to make this happen, but we believe it is an important and necessary investment in the future.
The final piece of the southern California redesign project focuses on arrival enhancement into San Diego. The airspace around San Diego is complicated by military operations being conducted in the area. New training needs have resulted in FAA working with our military partners to maximize the efficiency and safety of this shared space. Ultimately, we would like to conduct a more thorough analysis and redesign of this airspace to meet the anticipated long term needs of both commercial and military operations.
Turning now to runway incursions, I want to emphasize that reducing runway incursions is not just an FAA priority at LAX. We have been working hard to reduce the most serious runway incursions around the country. As outlined in the FAA Flight Plan 2006-2010, the FAA is developing a range of initiatives from airport design concepts to surface movement procedures. Related efforts address the errors committed by pilots, air traffic controllers, and airport-authorized vehicle operators and pedestrians. We have set performance targets and we are holding ourselves accountable for meeting those targets. We are working hard and making progress, but we are not there yet.
Because we are taking it seriously, the FAA reconstructs each runway incursion using the available information and plots the approximate location of each event on airport diagrams. During this exercise, we systematically categorize each runway incursion in terms of its severity. Severity Categories A through D (A being the most serious, D the least) consider factors such as the speed and performance characteristics of the aircraft involved, the proximity of one aircraft to another aircraft or vehicle, and the type and extent of any evasive action by those involved in the event. Aircraft involved in runway incursions are grouped into either commercial or general aviation operations. Incidents are further categorized into three error types: pilot deviations, operational errors/deviations, and vehicle/pedestrian deviations. It is important to remember that runway incursions do not occur in a vacuum. The actions of pilots, air traffic controllers and vehicle drivers are intermingled and can significantly impact one another.
We have made important progress over the last few years, especially in reducing serious Category A and B runway incursions by more than 40 percent since FY 2001. In FY 2005, we had a total of 327 runway incursions. Twenty-nine of those were Category A and B incursions, which is less than 10 percent of the total. In terms of error types, there were 169 pilot deviations, 105 operational errors/deviations, and 53 vehicle/pedestrian deviations. While pilot deviations are the most common type of runway incursion, they accounted for only 31 percent of serious incursions in the past fiscal year. Operational errors/deviations, on the other hand, accounted for only 32 percent of total deviations, but 55 percent of serious deviations which represents a notable change in the distribution of runway incursion types with respect to severity. These are the types of statistics our runway incursion safety team continuously analyzes in order to understand where our efforts will have the greatest impact in reducing risk.
FAA is working closely with other airport sponsors to address runway incursions. Late last year, Administrator Blakey met with the City of Los Angeles and discussed the chronic runway incursion problem at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). In fiscal year 1998, there were 12 runway incursions at LAX. Since then, we have made some progress. In fiscal year 2000, there were 10 runway incursions, 9 in 2003, and 8 last year. We see an improving trend, but there is still risk so we need to continue to reduce runway incursions at LAX as well as other airports around the country.
Roughly 80 percent of runway incursions at LAX occur on the south side of the airport. It is important to note the current airfield layout was designed to accommodate jetliners that were in service over 40-years ago. The City completed Master Plan for LAX identifies changes in the airfield layout to resolve this problem.
On May 20, 2005, FAA issued its Record of Decision for the City’s Master Plan. In August FAA issued a grant to the City for approximately $38.8 million for the relocation of the southern most runway and the addition of a new parallel taxiway at LAX. This project is expected to significantly reduce runway incursions at LAX. Last month FAA provided an additional $29.5 million for the runway relocation. The City has an aggressive schedule for the project and should be commended for this vital safety initiative and encouraged to expedite the project to the greatest degree possible.
Overall, we are taking a proactive approach to address operational vulnerabilities through awareness, education, procedures, airport infrastructure, and surface technology initiatives. The FAA has worked with external organizations, airport officials, and safety experts to increase surface safety awareness on a national level. We have developed and promoted runway safety training material in conjunction with organizations such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Foundation and the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA). Efforts have included the creation of an interactive Web-based program to inform pilots about preventing runway incursions. The program, accessible from both the FAA, AOPA, and ALPA web sites, provides an introduction to runway incursion risk, information about airfield signs and markings, and strategies for enhanced position awareness and improved cockpit management. Throughout the program, various quizzes, tasks, and information visualization tools offer an interactive learning experience.
In addition to the work we are doing with LAX, we have identified what we refer to as the Focus-35 airports. These are airports, LAX included, that reported the most runway incursions from FY 2001 to 2004. During that period, the Focus-35 airports handled 20 percent of all NAS operations yet accounted for 41 percent of all runway incursions (565). Through airport infrastructure and safety management programs, some of these airports have successfully reduced the number of runway incursions in the last year or two. The Focus-35 airports accounted for 39 percent of the Category A and B runway incursions. However, the number of such incursions decreased by 71 percent, from 24 to seven, from FY 2001 to 2004. Continued implementation of risk mitigation strategies at the Focus-35 airports offers the most immediate opportunity to continue to reduce the severity, number, and rate of runway incursions in the NAS.
As presented in the FAA Flight Plan 2006-2010, the FAA’s performance target is to reduce the number of Category A and B runway incursions to an annual rate of no more than 0.450 per million operations by FY 2010. Analysis of the trend of runway incursions from 2001 through 2004, shows that the rate of reduction flattened, suggesting that the runway safety management strategies that have been implemented early in that period had achieved their maximum effect. Therefore, in order to achieve our stated targets, the FAA must identify new strategies and re-prioritize their application.
That is why we are currently deploying a newer warning system called Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X (ASDE-X) to further enhance safety and improve “error tolerance”—as human error is inevitable. ASDE-X capabilities will be added to some of the sites that already have AMASS, including LAX, as well as being deployed to additional busy airports. Another effort worth mentioning is a change to the airfield paint markings standard for taxiway centerlines at 72 large airports, including LAX. We are requiring the new markings as another proactive way to alert pilots when they are approaching hold short lines so they do not inadvertently enter a runway without authorization. We will continue to pioneer work that offers the greatest opportunity for improving NAS-wide runway safety.