AviationNTSB recommends changes to FAA aborted landing rules

Published 3 July 2013

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended changes to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) rules for aborted landings after investigating five near-misses between commercial jetliners at major airports, three of which occurred at Las Vegas’s MaCarran International Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended changes to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) rules for aborted landings after investigating five near-misses between commercial jetliners at major airports, three of which occurred at Las Vegas’s MaCarran International Airport.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that the NTSB investigated the five near-misses and determined that in each situation an aircraft moved into the flight path of another plane while it was performing a go-around.

A go-around is an aborted landing attempt by a plane when the flight crew or an air-traffic controller concludes that the conditions are not satisfactory.

The NTSB says the changes to the air-traffic control procedures are needed to reduce the chances of a mid-air collision during go-around maneuvers. The FAA currently has rules to prevent planes from colliding, but there are times when controllers have to force a plane to make evasive maneuvers at low altitudes and high speeds “with little time to avoid a mid-air collision,” the report stated.

The report also said the FAA’s operating procedures “are inadequate and need to be revised to ensure the safe separation between aircraft near the airport environment.”

The NTSB investigations include:

  • A near mid-air collision occurred on 27 January 2006 when a United Airlines A-320 was executing a go-around as an American Airlines B-757 jet was departing from another runway. The two planes came within about 1,400 feet laterally and 300 feet vertically of each other.
  • A JetBlue Airways A-320 was executing a go-around on 26 April 2012 whiles a Learjet 60 business jet was departing from another runway. The two planes came within about 1,800 feet laterally and 100 feet vertically of each other.
  • A Spirit Airlines A-319 was executing a go-around on 30 July 2012 as a Dotcom Cessna Citation 510 was on short final for landing on another runway. The two planes came within about 1,300 feet laterally and 100 feet vertically of each other.
  • The agency also investigated a near-miss at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. On 30 July 2012. An American Airlines B-737 was executing a go-around as a Pinnacle Airlines CRJ 200 regional jet was departing from another runway. The two planes came within about 1,800 feet laterally and 300 feet vertically of each other.
  • The last incident occurred on 14 July 2012, when an ExpressJet Embraer 145 regional jet was executing a go-around as an Air Wisconsin Canadair RJ was departing from another runway. The two planes came within about 1,000 feet laterally and 400 feet vertically of each other.