2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion

Infobox Aircraft incident
name = 2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion
date = May 26, 2007
type = Runway incursion
site = San Francisco Int'l Airport California, USA
total_injuries =
total_survivors = 27 (all)
plane1_type = Embraer 170 Regional Jet
plane1_

---

plane1_caption = An Embraer 170 Regional Jet similar to that involved in the incursion.
plane1_operator = Republic Airlines (o/a Frontier Airlines)
plane1_tailnum = N872RW
plane1_passengers = 11
plane1_crew = 4
plane2_type = Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
plane2_

---

plane2_caption = An Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia turboprop aircraft similar to that involved in the incursion.
plane2_operator = SkyWest Airlines (o/a United Express)
plane2_tailnum = N232SW
plane2_passengers = 9
plane2_crew = 3

The 2007 San Francisco International Airport runway incursion occurred around 1:30 pm PST on May 26, 2007 when SkyWest Airlines (operating as United Express) Flight 5741 (SKW5741), an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia turboprop aircraft, nearly collided with Republic Airlines (operating as Frontier Airlines) Flight 4912, an Embraer 170 Regional Jet, at the intersection of runways 1L and 28R at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), South San Francisco, California. [cite web |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/11/BAGU1QD95158.DTL |title=Turboprop narrowly misses hitting jet at SFO |accessdate=2007-07-14 |author=Lee, Henry K. |date=2007-06-11 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Communications Inc. |quote=Two passenger planes almost collided, missing each other by only 50 feet, at San Francisco International Airport because of a controller's mistake two weeks ago, federal investigators said today.]

There were no reported injuries to occupants and no reported damage to either aircraft. cite web |url=http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20070610X00701&key=1 |title=NTSB Identification: OPS07IA004A |accessdate=2007-07-14 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |quote=On May 26, 2007, at 1336 Pacific daylight time, Republic Airlines flight 4912 (RPA4912), an Embraer 170 regional jet, and Skywest Airlines flight 5741 (SKW5741), an Embraer Brasilia turboprop, nearly collided in the intersection of runway1L and runway 28R at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California. Both aircraft were operating as scheduled passenger flights under 14 CFR part 121 and were operating on instrument flight plans. There were no reported injuries to occupants and no reported damage to either aircraft.] Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials described the runway incursion as the most serious incident of its kind in at least a decade, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) initiated an investigation into the incident. [cite news |title=NTSB Investigating runway incursion at San Francisco |work=LARAnews.net |author=LARAnews.net Editorial Team |date=2007-06-11 |accessdate=2007-07-13 |url=http://www.laranews.net/?a=1&id=6423 |quote=The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a runway incursion in San Francisco two weeks ago.] [cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/pressrel/2007/070611.htm |title=NTSB Advisory |accessdate=2007-07-14 |date=2007-06-11 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |quote=The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a runway incursion in San Francisco two weeks ago in which two airliners may have come within 50 feet of each other on intersecting runways.]

The incident

The SkyWest aircraft was arriving at SFO after a flight from Modesto, California, and was cleared to land on runway 28R. The Republic Airlines aircraft, bound for Los Angeles, California, taxied onto runway 1L and was instructed to hold. As the landing SkyWest aircraft passed the runway threshold the Republic Airlines aircraft was cleared for takeoff.

Approximately 27 seconds later the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS) issued an aural warning of an imminent collision, and the local controllerattempted to instruct the SkyWest aircraft to stop, transmitting, "uh, Skywest HOLD HOLD HOLD". The SkyWest aircraft came to a stop in the intersection of runways 1L and 28R, while Republic Airlines flight lifted off and overflew it. The initial FAA tower report estimated the aircraft missed colliding by 300 feet; however the Skywest crew estimated the distance as 30 to 50 feet.

Investigation

Runway incursions remain a serious problem for airline passengers, [cite web
url = http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/06/runway_runins.html
title = Runway Run-Ins Remain Big Problem
accessdate = 2007-07-14
date = 2007-06-28
author = Schlossberg, Dan
work = Consumer News Service
publisher = ConsumerAffairs.Com
quote = Planes operated by SkyWest and Republic came periously close to a runway collision in San Francisco May 26 after an air traffic controller gave the green light to both – on intersecting runways.] and runway safety has been a priority concern for both the FAA and NTSB; [http://www.faa.gov/runwaysafety/ FAA - Office of Runway Safety - Runway Safety Home ] ] [http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2000/a00_66_71.pdf runway incursion ] ] in a March 23, 2007 press conference on runway safety FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey described the Tenerife disaster 30 years earlier as a "wake-up" call,http://videoontheweb.faa.gov/news/Press_Conference_on_Runway_Safety-hs.asx] Runway safety has been on the NTSB's annual list of "Most Wanted Improvements" continuously since 1990 [http://transportation.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=220 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee : Press Release :: Aviation Subcommittee Holds Hearing on NTSB Safety Priorities ] ] and the NTSB held a one-day forum on runway incursions just two months earlier, on March 27, 2007. [cite web
url = http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/symp_ri/symp_ri.htm#2
title = NTSB - Symposia
accessdate = 2007-07-14
work = Runway Incursion Forum: Promoting Runway Safety
publisher = National Transportation Safety Board]

In this case, the FAA categorized the incident's severity as "Category A", the most severe;cite news
url = http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2007-6-30-0630-sfo-incursion
work = Palo Alto Daily News
accessdate = 2007-07-14
author = Abramson, Mark
date = 2007-06-30
title = FAA: Runway near miss at SFO was serious
publisher = Daily News Group
quote = Federal Aviation Administration officials are calling a near-collision at San Francisco International Airport the most serious incident of its kind at the airport in at least a decade.] Category A is defined as when "separation decreases and participants take extreme action to narrowly avoid a collision, or the event results in a collision."http://www.faa.gov/runwaysafety/pdf/report5.pdf] Of the previous 15 runway incursions at SFO between 2001 and 2007, none of them were more serious than Category C. [ [http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_6269483 Inside Bay Area - Serious runway incursions rare in area ] ]

Commenting on the seriousness of the incident, NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz noted that "We investigate probably just a handful (of incursions) a year." The NTSB officials have stated that the investigation could be completed by Fall. However, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor was quoted as saying "This wasn't a procedural issue, this was caused by a good controller with a lot of experience making a mistake", adding that since the incursion the controller had to be recertified for their job. The controller had over 20 years' experience. [cite news
url = http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2007-6-24-sfo-air-traffic
title = Adrenaline keeps air traffic controllers flying high on the job
work = Palo Alto Daily News
accessdate = 2007-07-14
author = Abramson, Mark
date = 2007-06-24
publisher = Daily News Group
quote = In the wake of a near-miss at San Francisco International Airport last month due to an error by an air traffic controller with two decades of experience, several local controllers shared their experiences in the field with the Daily News.]

FO and AMASS

SFO was initially selected for the first test installation of the AMASS ground radar system in 1992. AMASS, which can detect and alert controllers to potential runway conflicts, was intended by the FAA to be eventually installed in 40 airports around the country. However much criticism was directed at the project for cost overruns and lengthy delays. [http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9908/16/faacrash.idg/index.html CNN - FAA's runway safety system off track - August 16, 1999 ] ] The SFO AMASS was finally declared operational on June 18, 2001. [http://www.ntsb.gov/Speeches/carmody/cc010626.htm Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives ] ] According to AMASS technical support personnel, in a scenario such as this conflict, AMASS is designed to provide an alert 15 seconds before the aircraft reach the conflict point, and the system performed as designed.

See also

* Runway incursion

References

External links

* [http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/06/12/214568/pictures-near-miss-at-san-francisco-runway-intersection.html photos and diagrams]