America's Safest Airports

We did the math to determine America's safest airports, where a smooth landing is practically guaranteed.

It's official: flying is safer than ever.

Sure, you may still encounter air rage and sleepy controllers, but when it comes to accidents on the runway, airplane safety is at an all-time high. Last year’s accident rate was 0.61—one for every 1.6 million flights, according to the Air Transport Association (IATA).

Of course, some airports have a better track record than others. So to find the gold-star winners, TravelandLeisure.com analyzed the Federal Aviation Administration's latest Runway Safety Report and more recent statistics supplied by the FAA, and created a formula* (see our methodology) to determine which of the 35 busiest commercial airports in the United States had the fewest and least severe runway incidents from 2006 to 2010. The 15 that made our list of America's safest airports racked up a grand total of zero life-threatening incidents. Some have never had a serious incident or aircraft-related fatality.

Chalk those numbers up to improvements the FAA has made over the years. In 2000, U.S. airports recorded 67 serious runway incursions that could have easily led to injuries or fatalities. According to FAA spokesperson Tammy Jones, the total dropped to only six last year, while the number of serious incidents specifically involving commercial aircraft plummeted from 34 a decade ago to three in 2010.

Since launching a call to action on runway safety in 2007, the FAA has put in place a number of new programs and technologies. These include pilot seminars and air traffic controller refresher courses, new Runway Status Lights technology, airport surface detection equipment, and the identification of "hot spots," where the risk of collision is higher.

Even so, several major U.S. airports continue to grapple with safety issues, and several medium-size airports still have downright shameful records.

So where will you find America's safest airports? The Midwest comprises a third of the list, despite its reputation for severe weather, while only three Sun Belt airports are represented. One explanation is the higher volume of private planes in sunny climates. According to Wes Timmons, the FAA's recently retired director of runway safety, the majority of runway incursions are caused by pilots of private planes who ignore air traffic control instructions.

Noticeably absent from our list are most of the nation's biggest airports. Only three of them (Houston, Detroit, and Minneapolis) are among the 15 busiest in terms of total aircraft operations.

"Some of the larger airports were designed well before I was born, and with the explosion of air traffic over the past 50 years, they have struggled to keep up," says Steve Jangelis, chairman of the Airport and Ground Environment Committee for the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 6,000 pilots of 40 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Still, he says, "airports understand there is an issue, and we are seeing progress as these airports mitigate the risk."

Read on to discover which airport has made so much progress that it's now the safest in America.

Methodology

To calculate an airport's safety score, we used information from the FAA's Runway Safety Report and individual runway safety data supplied by the FAA. We started with the Runway Incident Rate—the total number of runway incidents divided by the total number of runway operations (takeoffs and landings), then averaged the rate for the five years covered in our survey period. We then looked at serious (Category A and B) runway incidents in which there was a strong or good possibility of a crash or human casualties. We assigned values to these incidents: 1 for "A" and 0.5 for "B." We added these Category A/B incident scores to the overall incident rate per year to achieve an overall score and ranking.

Score: 0.26

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 4

Safety Innovations: Major enhancements have included a new underground transportation system and a third north-south runway. The airport's safety record is nothing short of phenomenal. In the last three years (2008–2010), CVG has experienced just one runway incident of any kind, and it had no immediate safety implications.

Score: 0.59 (rounded from .588)

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 10

Safety Innovations: The FAA is building a state-of-the-art, $61.5 million control tower and an expanded terminal radar approach control at MEM. Memphis boasts an outstanding safety record, especially considering that it's been the world's busiest cargo airport for most of the last 20 years, and it shares runways with the Tennessee Air National Guard.

Score: 0.68

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 19

Safety Innovations: The airport master plan calls for the creation of a perimeter taxiway system that will allow arriving or departing aircraft to loop around active runway areas rather than crossing them. And it can't come soon enough. By the end of 2011, IAH will be one of only four airports around the globe with direct flights to all six inhabited continents.

Score: 0.70

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 6

Safety Innovations: A state-of-the-art snow- and ice-removal system makes Pittsburgh one of the safest airports in the world during severe winter weather. Among its innovations are front and rear de-icing teams, runway sensors that relay real-time snow and ice conditions, and direct radio communication between the snow-removal crews and the FAA control tower.

Score: 0.73

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 9

Safety Innovations: PDX is nearing the end of a three-year improvement program that includes the expansion of one runway, the complete reconstruction of a second runway, and new taxiways. It's not only one of the safest but one of the most picturesque American airports, along the south bank of the Columbia River in the shadow of snowcapped Mount Hood.

Score: 0.75

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 13

Safety Innovations: Like nearby Disney World, MCO has benefited from a surplus of cheap land in central Florida, allowing for aggressive expansion and parallel runways that greatly enhance safety. MCO is scheduled to have its new Runway Status Lights system deployed in August 2011, giving pilots real-time information on current and anticipated runway occupancy.

Score: 0.85

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 4

Safety Innovations: Skimming low over Balboa Park and downtown San Diego, the final approach to Lindbergh Field is about as white-knuckle as it gets at major U.S. airports. But this hair-raising landing belies the fact that Lindbergh Field is still very safe. It's one of only four U.S. airports that already have their Runway Status Lights system deployed and undergoing operational evaluation.

Score: 0.93

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 21

Safety Innovations: One of the nation's oldest major airports launched a "MSP 2010" expansion program that included construction of a fourth runway, new airfield de-icing pads, and improved electronic aircraft guidance systems, as well as repaving of runways, taxiways, and aprons.

Score: 0.97

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 17

Safety Innovations: The smallest of the three major airports in the New York metropolitan area has the best safety record. LGA's ongoing runway rehabilitation program includes the addition of TouchdownZone Lights (TDZ) to both runways.

Score: 1.33

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 31

Safety Innovations: ASDE-X airport surface detection equipment, which carefully monitors the position of all aircraft and vehicles on the runways, taxiways, and parking areas, is already installed at DTW. The airport is scheduled to have its Runway Status Lights system operational in 2014.

Score: 1.38 (rounded up from 1.376)

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 19

Safety Innovations: DCA's main north-south runway is currently in the middle of a major renovation project that includes resurfacing and new runway lighting systems.

Score: 1.45

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 28

Safety Innovations: Multiple runways give SLC the flexibility to close one runway for snow clearing after winter storms while keeping two others operational. The current airport master plan calls for a realignment of the easternmost runway, making it exactly parallel with the other two landing strips and giving SLC the capability of simultaneous safe operations on three runways.

Score: 1.49 (1.488 before rounding)

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 17

Safety Innovations: One of the most heralded airfields in American aviation history, Lambert's lineage stretches back to the 1890s when it was a hot-air-balloon launching pad. Many innovations later, in 2005, STL won an FAA air transport safety award in recognition of the airport's effective transition to a new taxiway designation system.

Score: 1.57

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 15

Safety Innovations: BWI has never had a fatal aviation accident of any kind. But the airport isn't just resting on its laurels. Plagued by dangerous winter weather like many other northern airports, BWI turned to an innovative solution in winter 2010, when it recruited snow- and ice-clearing experts and grooming vehicles from Liberty Mountain ski resort in Pennsylvania.

Score: 1.63

Runway Incidents (2006–2010): 22

Safety Innovations: A capital improvement program called D2 calls for a new state-of-the-art air traffic control tower and two new runways at IAD.