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Summary

One of the primary indicators of the safety of the National Airspace System is runway incursions (potential collisions on the ground). Reducing runway incursions is a key performance goal for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that requires attention at all levels of the Agency. Compared to 5 years ago, FAA has made progress in reducing runway incursions. The total number of runway incursions decreased from a high of 407 in fiscal year (FY) 2001 to 327 in FY 2005, and the most serious incidents (Category A and B) decreased from 53 to 29.

During the period FY 2005 through April 2006 Boston Logan had 18 incidents (1 severe), Chicago O'Hare had 12 incidents (3 severe), and Philadelphia had 13 incidents (1 severe involving a collision). Those were the highest number of runway incursions among the nation's large commercial airports.

The objectives of this audit are to assess the actions taken by FAA to (1) identify and correct the causes of recent runway incursions at Boston Logan, Chicago O'Hare, and Philadelphia International Airports and (2) address those issues that could affect safety system-wide.