U.S. Runway Safety Improved In 2024, Faa Data Shows

The FAA’s latest push to reduce high-risk airport surface occurrences is showing signs of paying off, the latest runway incursion data suggests.The agency classified seven incursions reported in 2024 as either Category A or B events—the two most serious types. The total represents a drop from 2023’s total of 22, and is the fewest reported in at least a decade, FAA data show.Category A incursions totaled just two in 2024—less than half of the average annual figure of 5.4 per recorded from 2019-2023.Classification of incursion events can take weeks as investigators examine data and determine an event’s specifics, so some of the 2024 data could change. But the preliminary trends are encouraging across the board.The FAA recorded 1,661 total incursions in 2024, or 29 per million landings and takeoffs. That compares to 33 incursions per million movements in 2023 and 32 per million movements in 2022.FAA data show the incursions per-million figure has been below 29 only twice in the previous 10 years—2020 and 2014.Runway incursions have been the focus of several safety improvement efforts over the years. The topic again garnered significant attention as commercial traffic returned following the 2020 global downturn. An early 2023 spike played a role in the agency’s Safety Call To Action that urged industry to mine data for signs of precursors to serious events.The agency’s contribution has included new and expanded initiatives to equip air traffic controllers and pilots with more tools and better information.The data, published by the Air Traffic Organization’s Safety and Technical Training service and shared by the agency, does not break down the types of aircraft involved in the incidents. Another FAA source, the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) database, indicates incursions involving commercial operators are also down.ASIAS, which includes data through Nov. 30, 2024, showed five of 2024’s A and B incursions involved at least one commercial aircraft.The figure is down sharply from 2023’s total of 21 and 2022’s 18.Runway incursions data is just one barometer for determining safety levels of the National Airspace System (NAS) and its operators—the largest of which are required to have organization-wide safety management systems. The recent mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) underscores that safety records and data patterns can change quickly—and that weak points remain in the NAS.The 67 lives lost—64 occupants on the commercial flight and three on the helicopter—in the DCA accident is the most serious U.S. air carrier accident measured in casualties since all 260 onboard American Airlines Flight 587 plus five more on the ground were killed in November 2001. But it was the third resulting in at least one passenger fatality since February 2009’s Colgan Air accident that was often cited as the last fatal U.S. accident before the DCA collision.U.S. operators have suffered five fatal freighter accidents since February 2009 that, like the DCA and Colgan disasters, involved at least one Part 121 aircraft.Part 121 operators have also seen ramp and technical workers killed in on-the-job accidents. The most recent occurred Jan. 28, when an American employee was struck and killed by a baggage-handling vehicle at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.