Pilots and Experts Warned of Rise in Near Collisions at Airports Before Deadly Japan Airlines Crash

Investigation by The New York Times They warned that the number of crashes in the sky and on nearby runways was on the rise in the months before Tuesday’s deadly Japan Airlines crash.

Five people are reported dead after a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet collided with a smaller Japanese Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, according to multiple media outlets including CNN and the BBC.

All 379 crew and passengers on board the JAL flight were safely evacuated as the plane caught fire, shortly before the plane was fully engulfed in flames. However, five of the six people on board the Coast Guard plane, which was preparing to deliver aid in the event of an earthquake, died in the crash, public broadcaster NHK reported, Reuters reports.

In August, The New York Times published a report investigating the recent increase in dangerous close calls between aircraft in flight and on airport runways.

According to an investigation that focused on US airports, incidents involving planes that have come into close contact with each other have seen a sharp rise across the country, including at nearly all airports and major airlines. The investigation cited a lack of warning systems at airports along with a shortage of air traffic controller staff as some of the main contributing factors to these near-disasters which occur on average several times a week.

STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

Analyzing NASA’s database of classified safety reports from pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals, times found that in the most recent 12-month period for which data was available, there were approximately 300 reports of close encounters. Exit also reported that at least 46 near misses occurred in the month of July 2023 alone.

New York Magazine he pointed out after the JAL accident, that one of the deadliest aviation accidents in history happened on earth. In 1977, two 747 airliners collided on a foggy runway in the Canary Islands, killing 583 of the 644 passengers and crew.

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“This really opened my eyes to how the next plane crash could play out,” the pilot wrote to NASA after avoiding a runway crash in January, according to times.

“Will it take people dying for something to move forward?” an air traffic controller wrote the same month after another near miss.

The last fatal crash involving a major US airline occurred in February 2009 when a Continental jet crashed into a house outside Buffalo, NY, killing all 49 people on board. The absence of a crash since the incident marks the longest period without a fatal accident by a major US airline.

PEOPLE has reported on a number of near misses in the past year alone.

For example, in January 2023, a Delta Air Lines flight was preparing to take off when “air traffic controllers observed that another aircraft was crossing the runway ahead of the departing aircraft,” the Federal Aviation Administration said at the time in a statement shared with the PEOPLE.

Delta’s Boeing 737 was able to come to a safe stop approximately 300 feet “before reaching the point” where the American Airlines Boeing 777 “overran the adjacent taxiway,” the FAA said, adding that it was investigating the incident.

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Similarly, in February, a Boeing 737 operated by Southwest Airlines was scheduled to take off just before a FedEx 767 freighter was expected to land, according to an FAA statement at the time obtained by PEOPLE.

According to the FAA, the Boeing 767 cargo plane was several miles from the airport when it was cleared to land. But right before it was expected to head to the airport, an air traffic controller gave the Southwest plane the green light to take off.

To avoid the crisis, the FedEx plane changed course and abandoned the landing, the FAA said.

“The pilot of the FedEx aircraft aborted the landing and began climbing,” the FAA reported. “The Southwest flight took off safely.”

In March, Boston Logan International Airport had a near-collision on the runway when a JetBlue plane nearly crashed into a private jet.

United Airlines line. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Big problem, The New York Times A lack of adequately staffed air traffic control centers was noted.

Of the 313 facilities nationwide, only three had enough people to meet the staffing goals recommended by the FAA and the union representing controllers. Many of these controllers are also asked to work six days a week with mandatory overtime, sometimes resulting in only eight hours between shifts.

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The shortage of air traffic controllers has been a growing problem since the 1980s, the paper writes. The Reagan administration fired thousands of striking controllers, and since then the department has seen departures in waves as controllers approach retirement age with no new interns to take their places.

The pandemic has also led to an exodus of employees, while health and safety measures have slowed down the training of new hires.

In June, the Department of Transportation’s inspector general released a report stating that “the FAA has made limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing at critical air traffic control facilities.” It found that “the FAA continues to face staffing challenges and lacks a plan to address them, which in turn poses a risk to the continuity of air traffic operations.”

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Source: HIS Education