FAA Launches Monthly Training for Air Traffic Controllers After Dozens of Near-Misses

Air traffic controllers keep watch using Data Comm, part of the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation system in the control tower at Miami International Airport in Miami, Fla., on March 6, 2017. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching a monthly training series for the air traffic controller workforce, just weeks after announcing a multi-million dollar investment aimed at preventing near-misses throughout the country.

The training sessions, part of what the FAA is calling its “Stand Up for Safety” series, will be held in collaboration with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the agency said in a June 21 statement.

Training will focus on “relevant safety topics aimed at strengthening the proficiency of controllers in all FAA facilities” with in-person briefings beginning in July, according to the FAA.

“To reach our goal of zero close calls, everyone must stay sharp,” said Tim Arel, the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization chief operating officer. “This training will give us an opportunity to focus on safety with our entire workforce,” he added.

The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington on July 21, 2007. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

According to the FAA, “data and seasonal challenges” will drive which topics will be focused on each month although initial topics to be covered will include airfield safety “to help cover several items to reduce events on the surface.”

The new program will also include “Voluntary Safety Reporting Program training” that the FAA says will help those involved to “identify potential safety hazards and ensure corrective actions are taken.”

The monthly training sessions come after the agency announced it plans to spend more than $100 million to help reduce the risk of runway incursions at airports across the United States.

Funding will go to 12 airports across the country, including Miami International Airport, San Diego International Airport, and Bellingham International Airport in Washington, among others; and will be used to construct taxiways, rebuild runways, and install airfield lighting, among other things, the FAA said.

Top beneficiaries of the multi-million dollar investment will be Tucson International Airport, which will be awarded $33.1 million, and San Diego International Airport, which will receive $24 million to construct a new taxiway.

Near Misses

An American Airlines plane takes off from Miami International Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had slowed the volume of airplane traffic over Florida due to an air traffic computer issue in Miami on Jan. 2, 2023. Marco Bello/Reuters

There have been dozens of near-misses reported at airports across the country this year, including one at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in January involving a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 and American Airlines Boeing 777.

In February, in Austin, Texas, a FedEx cargo plane missed crashing into a Southwest Airlines airliner by just 100 feet while 131 passengers and crew were aboard.

In March, two United Airlines planes on the runway at Boston’s Logan International Airport struck one another early in the morning, resulting in flights being rescheduled.

In April, another collision was reported at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. During that incident, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 was reportedly damaged after hitting another plane, causing significant damage to its nose and fuselage.

Despite there being multiple incursion reports so far this year, the FAA says that “serious” runway incursions—which the agency defines as an incident in which a collision was “narrowly avoided” or in which there is “significant potential for a collision”—were down in 2022.

According to FAA data, 18 such incursions were reported in the United States in 2022 compared to the high of 32 reported in 2007.

There were, however, still at least 1,633 runway incursions overall at U.S. airports in 2022, up from the 1,372 reported in 2012.

Earlier this year, the FAA hosted a safety summit with industry and aerospace safety leaders and later issued a safety alert (pdf) to airlines, pilots, and others citing the “need for continued vigilance and attention to mitigation of safety risks.”