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Runway incursions, though "not a problem" in Europe, are becoming a top safety priority elsewhere
It will probably be months before the whole story of the events leading to the loss of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ006 will be known. Currently, it appears that an experienced Boeing 747 captain and his crew believed, from the indications of the Taipei airport's taxiway and runway lights, that they had lined up for takeoff on Runway 05 Left, and not on its nearby parallel 05 Right, which was closed for construction. Runway visibility was 500m in rain - well within acceptable limits. Reportedly, the Captain had elected to use Runway 05 Left in preference to Runway 06 - which, being closer to the terminal, was usually Singapore's choice - because 05 Left was a longer Category II runway, which would "afford better margins for the prevailing wet runway conditions." As the aircraft accelerated to takeoff speed, the crew saw the construction equipment on the runway ahead. With insufficient time or space to stop, the aircraft crashed, killing 83 of the 179 people on board.
Was the loss of SQ006 a rare, isolated, occurrence, or did it represent just the tip of the iceberg?
Certainly, there have been very few accidents where aircraft have used the wrong runway and have been damaged or destroyed after striking construction equipment. But on a number of occasions in the USA, taxiing aircraft have entered active runways while other aircraft have been landing or taking off, with sometimes disastrous results. Indeed, at a recent runway incursion prevention meeting in Washington, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey stated that "... taxiing on the airport surface is the most hazardous phase of flight."
While her comment surprised those who have traditionally considered the approach and landing phase as being the most hazardous, FAA statistics are proving Garvey's point. When US accident data, including "near misses", are analyzed, the airport surface turns out to have the greatest potential for major aviation catastrophes (see box). Since 1977, there have been a large number of situations in the USA where only the skill and alertness of pilots and air traffic controllers - plus plain luck - have averted major runway accidents. But on five separate occasions since 1990, pilot...