The Federal Aviation Administration held a safety summit in Washington Wednesday following a series of safety-related incidents at airports across the country.
At the summit, the recent dramatic increase in air travel and the need for better technology were cited as reasons for the rising number of close calls. But Logan Airport — where one of those recent incidents occurred — is one of 43 airports across the country that have been outfitted by the FAA with the latest technology to deter potential collisions.
On Feb. 27, a LearJet began taking off on a runway at Logan Airport that crossed the landing path of an arriving JetBlue flight. The JetBlue plane suddenly aborted its landing to avoid collision. The circumstances that led to this close hall are still under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
David Ishihara, director of aviation services at Logan, attended the FAA safety summit. On Thursday, he explained to Massport’s board that Logan was an early adopter of two safety systems to help prevent collisions. One is a ground-based radar that allows pilots to see both vehicles and other airplanes on the ground. It also will alert the pilot and control tower if an airplane on final approach is not headed for the runway on which it is cleared to land. The other safety system is a network of runway status lights installed along taxiways and runways throughout the airport. They flash red and warn pilots of potential conflicts between planes taking off and landing. Ishihara said that light system will be expanded this summer.
Massport Director of Aviation Ed Freni reminded the board that all the radar systems that Ishihara referenced are maintained and installed by the FAA and not within Massport’s control.
