T+L's Most Dangerous U.S. Airports

Score: 5.65

Runway Incidents: 75

Close Calls: In 2006, a United Airlines 737 was picking up speed on the runway when the pilot saw an Atlas Air 747 rolling into its path. Quick thinking by the United pilot prevented a collision, but only by 120 feet.

The Fix: A $6.6 billion modernization plan scheduled for completion in 2014 will realign O’Hare’s runways into a much safer configuration.

Score: 5.38

Runway Incidents: 45

Close Calls: While landing at Hopkins in February 2007, a Delta Connection commuter flight skidded off a snow-covered runway and smashed through an airport perimeter fence.

The Fix: CLE has completed a major extension of its main runway, a project that also eliminated crossover with a smaller runway and provided pilots and air traffic controllers with a less confusing takeoff and landing environment.

Score: 4.41

Runway Incidents: 60

Close Calls: Among the LAX episodes were near misses of arriving and departing planes in both 2006 and 2007.

The Fix: LAX is the venue for what the FAA calls an “ongoing intensive outreach program” to educate pilots, controllers, and vehicle operators on best practices, proper procedures, situational awareness, and other aspects of runway safety.

Score: 3.88

Runway Incidents: 55

Close Calls: One of the hairier runway incidents of recent years was a near miss in the spring of 2007 at San Francisco International. A Sky West turboprop arriving from Modesto was given permission to land at the same time as a Republic Airlines regional jet was given the green light for takeoff on a crossing runway. Told to hold by the control tower, the Sky West aircraft came to a stop in the intersection of the runways as the Republic plane soared right above. The pilots estimate the aircraft came within 30–50 feet of a collision that could have been catastrophic.

The Fix: With the airport’s crossing runways and so many flights impacted by fog and other weather delays, SFO administrators have long advocated a complete realignment of its runways into a safer configuration. This involves extending the airfield into the bay—a plan vehemently opposed by Bay Area environmentalists and windsurfing enthusiasts.

Score: 3.62

Runway Incidents: 30

Close Calls: In May 2007, a military cargo plane taxiing after landing nearly strayed into the path of a departing commuter passenger jet.

The Fix: As part of a $2.3 billion project to modernize all of Hawaii’s commercial airports, Honolulu is getting wider taxiways and improved runway lighting.

Score: 3.47

Runway Incidents: 47

Close Calls: In August 2006, a US Airways flight blew a tire on landing at Miami and caught fire. Everyone onboard was evacuated safely.

The Fix: Anyone who has flown in or out of Miami lately knows the airport is an ongoing construction zone, the result of a $6.2 billion capital improvement project scheduled for completion in 2011. Safety improvements include new runway lights, aprons, taxiways, and a midfield “hold pad.”

Score: 3.35

Runway Incidents: 34

Close Calls: A Mexican private jet landed at Fort Lauderdale in November 2006—without its landing gear deployed. The aircraft burst into flames as it skidded down the runway, although none of the 12 occupants was seriously injured.

The Fix: FLL is in the midst of an $800 million improvement project that revolves around the complete reconstruction of the airport’s busy south runway. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Score: 3.26

Runway Incidents: 19

Close Calls: A departing Southwest Airlines 737 came within 50 feet of an arriving Empire Airways Cessna in March 2010.

The Fix: Working closely with the FAA, Sky Harbor recently completed a number of runway safety improvements including Runway Status Lights, new taxiway connectors, and extended safety buffer zones at the end of runways.

Score: 3.24

Runway Incidents: 63

Close Calls: In 2005, an Aer Lingus Airbus and US Airways Boeing 737 nearly collided on crossing runways after getting permission from air traffic control to take off. The accident was avoided when the quick-thinking copilot of the US Airways plane pushed his control column forward to slow takeoff.

The Fix: In recent years, Logan has completed construction of a brand-new runway and a central taxiway that helps relieve airfield congestion. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) gave the airport its 2008 “Airport of the Year” award for its collaborative efforts to improve safety, including enhanced markings and technologies.

Score: 2.86

Runway Incidents: 61

Close Calls: During one 30-day period in 2008, the airport racked up 10 near misses.

The Fix: In 2008, Dallas/Fort Worth launched the first phase of a revolutionary perimeter taxiway system that increases runway safety—and decreases the possibility of close encounters—by allowing aircraft to taxi around DFW’s seven active runways rather than crossing them.

Score: 2.73

Runway Incidents: 23

Close Calls: While landing on a slippery runway at Midway in December 2005, a Southwest Airlines 737 shot off the end of a runway and into a surface street, where it smashed into a car, killing a six-year-old boy. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation ultimately blamed pilot error, abetted by a lack of the soft concrete Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS) that would have slowed the plane after leaving the tarmac.

The Fix: Following that accident, Midway decided to fund and construct EMAS at the end of its runways.

Score: 2.48

Runway Incidents: 15

Close Calls: Strong crosswinds were blamed for a 2008 incident in which a Continental Airlines 737 plunged off a runway into a ravine and caught fire. Thirty-eight people were injured during the crash, several of them seriously.

The Fix: In recent years, DEN has revised its runway and taxiway safety policies, as well as winter snow-management procedures, but strong winds continue to delay flights and pose safety concerns.

Score: 2.34

Runway Incidents: 35

Close Calls: CLT has been the scene of several serious incidents in recent years including the 2003 crash of a US Airways commuter flight that left 21 passengers and crew dead, as well as a 2009 near miss between two America West aircraft.

The Fix: A new runway that opened last year—the airport’s third parallel runway—and taxiway extensions currently under way at CLT will help separate commercial flights from Air National Guard and corporate aviation activities.

Score: 2.05

Runway Incidents: 50

Close Calls: The FAA alerts pilots to three “hot spot” locations on runways and taxiways at PHL. Over the past two years, there have been 14 runway incursions.

The Fix: The FAA recently improved lighting and signage at PHL to reduce the number of runway incursions.

Score: 1.99

Runway Incidents: 32

Close Calls: One of the airport’s more publicized safety incidents in recent years came when a Continental Airlines 757 landed on a taxiway rather than the adjacent runway, an episode that led the FAA to reevaluate air traffic and runway safety procedures at Newark.

The Fix: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is currently working with Honeywell, Continental Airlines, and the FAA to launch a ground-based augmentation system at EWR that will allow planes to fly closer together and more aircraft to land without compromising safety.

Score: 1.97

Runway Incidents: 17

Close Calls: As at other airports, wildlife occasionally interferes with TPA’s operations. Roaming coyotes are a threat, and airport authorities have had to undertake several roundups over the past decade. While there’s been only one apparent coyote-aircraft collision at Tampa, the FAA counts nearly 300 across the U.S. since 1990, so it’s always a danger.

The Fix: Federal wildlife officials have trapped and removed a number of coyotes from Tampa’s runways and surrounding woods in recent years, and officials have mended animal-size gaps in a six-foot-high fence around the airport.

Score: 1.87

Runway Incidents: 31

Close Calls: Snow and ice on the runway and low visibility at Sea-Tac contributed to a cargo 747 sliding off the end of the runway.

The Fix: Seattle’s airport unveiled a $993 million third runway in 2008.Periods of lower visibility occur 44 percent of the time at Sea-Tac; the new runway allows for greater operating efficiency and has spurred the expansion of the airport safety area.

Score: 1.81

Runway Incidents: 51

Close Calls: Two planes operated by Air Canada and America West nearly collided in 2005. According to press reports, it was believed a McCarran air traffic controller gave clearance to the wrong America West jet.

The Fix: McCarran has extended or constructed runways in recent years to accommodate more takeoffs and landings. Runway Status Lights are also part of the airport’s program to improve safety.

Score: 1.68

Runway Incidents: 82

Close Calls: In 2008, a Delta flight taking off for Puerto Vallarta came within an estimated three seconds of colliding with an Atlantic Southeast regional jet that crossed the runway without air traffic control clearance.

The Fix: Hartsfield-Jackson has been using a $40 million Airport Improvement Program Grant from the FAA to improve runways and taxiways, rehabilitate apron areas, and enhance the runway safety area at the end of the airport’s longest runway.

Score: 1.65

Runway Incidents: 35

Close Calls: In April of 2011, an Air France double-decker A380 collided with a Delta Connection regional jet while the Airbus was taxiing toward its takeoff position. Fortunately, no one was injured.

The Fix: JFK has already installed an ASDE-X system with sophisticated ground radar. The addition of Runway Status Lights—which warn pilots when it is unsafe to cross, enter, or begin takeoff on a runway—should help as well.