Storied Love Field in
Dallas will be among the first airports in the nation to utilize new technology
designed to reduce close calls.
The announcement
comes on the heels of a near-mist at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
earlier this week.
The breakthrough
technology will be used for airplanes taking off and landing. It is a
safety initiative being introduced by the Federal Aviation Administration. In
fact, one of the airplanes involved in the close call at Reagan National was
preparing to land while the other was taxiing to take off. It was a case of
human error as one air traffic controller could be heard on audio giving the go
ahead to a plane that was set to depart and another air traffic controller
could be heard giving permission for another plane to land.
The two jets were
said to be seconds away from colliding. Nobody was hurt, an airport operations
were not greatly impacted.
"If people do not appreciate the
seriousness of the safety situation we're in today, then something tragic is
going to happen,” said Dan Stratman, a retired airline pilot and author of the
aviation thriller “Mayday."
This new technology is supposed to help
mitigate that possibility.
“COVID decimated the airline industry and
it led to massive retirements. Of course, it was the most experienced people
who retired and the industry has been scrambling ever since then to catch up by
hiring people,” he said.
Airports in nearby Austin, Nashville and
Indianapolis will also be testing the technology.
“We’re committed to doing everything
possible to make our runways even safer. This cost-effective technology
provides controllers with timely and accurate depictions of aircraft and
vehicles on the entire airfield in all weather conditions,” said FAA Administrator
Mike Whitaker in a release.
"It's like having an extra pair of
eyes looking over their shoulder. It will automatically perform some alerts if
there's a conflict,” said Stratman. "… The safety of the system is going
to be increased by having this new technology, but the real solution is to get
more people into the jobs so that it's not understaffed and build up the
experience level.”
The new technology is ready to be deployed
at Love Field by July of this year and at other airports into the summer of
2025.
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