FAA: Runway safety focus of meetings at MacArthur, Republic, airports nationwide

Bolstering runway safety nationwide after several recent close calls is the subject of upcoming FAA meetings at Long Island MacArthur, Republic and nearly 90 other airports across the country.

The safety meetings are held annually at every airport with a control tower, said officials with the Federal Aviation Administration, but over the next month, they will focus specifically on preventing aircraft from colliding either at takeoff or landing.

A Monday story in The New York Times detailed a slew of close calls involving commercial airliners over the past month, either in the air or on airport runways. On Tuesday, the FAA announced the series of meetings over the next month, including at LaGuardia Airport. The issue of runway safety sparked a “safety call to action" by the FAA in February after several close calls.

“We are experiencing the safest period in aviation history, but we cannot take this for granted. Recent events remind us that we must not become complacent,” FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen said in February. “Now is the time to stare into the data and ask hard questions.”

During the upcoming runway meetings, airport officials will identify safety problems at airports and develop plans to reduce or eliminate the risk of runway collisions. FAA officials said.

Long Island MacArthur Airport management will meet with the FAA, air traffic controllers, airline officials and members of the aviation community, said MacArthur Aviation Commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken.

“The overall purpose of the Runway Safety Action Team meetings is to identify specific airport environmental risks and determine mitigation methods,” LaRose-Arken said in a statement. “The responsibility of the team members is to work collectively to improve airfield safety.”

The airport hosts three commercial airlines, Breeze Airways, Frontier and Southwest.

FAA officials have noted that improvements at MacArthur eliminated any “hot spots" — runway locations most susceptible to aircraft collisions, or incursions, when a plane makes an unauthorized entrance to a runway.

The Town of Islip, which operates MacArthur, received an $8.4 million federal grant in 2021 to resurface a 5,186-foot runway that was 25 years old, with additional guidance signs.

The airport also underwent a $16 million renovation in 2019 on the main 7,000-foot runway, funded through a $14 million FAA grant.

In June, the FAA said that "extensive renovation" at MacArthur and "major configuration changes" led to "no Hot Spots indicated for the airport, however, there are areas of concern.”

So far this year, there have been three runway incursions at MacArthur, including in April when two planes came within 4,000 feet of each other after one crossed a runway while taking off.

Republic Airport showed six runway incursions last year and 10 in 2021. In a June 2021 incident, two planes came within 100 feet of each other after one landed as the other was on the runway.

FAA officials said they set a goal in March to eliminate serious close calls. The same approach virtually eliminated the risk of fatalities aboard U.S. commercial airlines, officials said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.