Clearing the runway problem: NLV Airport works to reduce incidents

Monday, April 23, 2001 | 11:34 a.m.

The North Las Vegas Airport is the second busiest in the state, a favored destination for private pilots seeking safe haven near the heart of the Las Vegas Valley.

Officials of the Clark County Aviation Department, which runs the airport, are proud of the airport. But they are less proud of another statistic: the North Las Vegas Airport leads the nation in the number of "runway incursions."

A runway incursion occurs when an aircraft, ground vehicle or person is on a runway when it shouldn't be. Incidents can be as minor as the nose of a plane going over a "hold line" on a runway, or as potentially dangerous as one plane trying to take off while another is trying to land on the same strip of asphalt.

Either way, the Federal Aviation Administration has targeted the incidents as safety hazards and is working to reduce the severity and number of runway incursions nationally.

Last year the North Las Vegas Airport, off Rancho Road, reported 16 runway incidents, the highest in the nation in 2000, prompting a Sarasota, Fla., newspaper to label the airport the nation's "deadliest."

The charge is bunk, say aviation department officials. None of those incursions resulted in an accident, much less the loss of life.

A year ago two people died when a two-engine Cessna crashed at the airport while trying to land in 25-mph winds. But the crash had nothing to do with a runway incursion, federal and local authorities said.

One ongoing problem, airport Manager Duane Busch said, is that the North Las Vegas Airport draws many visiting pilots. They aren't familiar with the layout of the airport and might have limited experience with airports as busy as this one.

According to FAA records, the North Las Vegas Airport had about 230,000 landings and take-offs last year, making the site one of the busiest "general aviation" -- a term used for small aircraft, private or commercial -- airports in the country.

That traffic provides a critical service to the county, said Hilarie Grey, spokeswoman for the aviation department, by relieving pressure on McCarran, the world's eighth busiest airport for take-offs and landings, according to the industry group Airports Council International.

"The critical part of McCarran is runway availability," Grey said. With private aviators able to use North Las Vegas, they have no need to use up valuable space at the bigger airport, she said.

Jeff Farmer, 45, is a pilot and aerial photographer who keeps his small plane at the North Las Vegas Airport. He said the increasing pace of traffic at the field contributes to runway incursions.

"We have the potential for a greater number of incursions because of a greater level of activity," he said.

But while a runway incursion at Los Angeles International Airport might mean two wingtips touching, a potentially serious situation, the incursion problems at the North Las Vegas Airport are relatively minor, Farmer said.

The North Las Vegas Airport rate of landings and takeoffs to runway incursions marks about one incident for every 14,000 takeoffs and landings, but that low rate doesn't satisfy Busch, who said more is happening to curb runway incursions.

"Anything involving safety needs attention," he said.

Some steps are already complete. One was to widen runway hold lines, markings where plans are meant to stop and hold, from 6 inches to 12 inches. Other marking-related efforts include establishing brightly colored "putting greens" to guide pilots through turns onto the runways.

Busch said the efforts have already paid off. He said the airport has recorded only one runway incursion in about five months.

Next year's incident total will be much more positive, Busch predicted.

"When they roll over this report, you'll see a substantial drop on what you see on the list," he said.

Dave Kurner, the Federal Aviation Administration's runway safety manager for the Western-Pacific Region, agreed.

"They are kind of our poster child in this region, and they should be nationally," Kurner said.

"There were a variety of factors" that contributed to the problem, he said. "They were addressed, and they were resolved."

Kurner said the only incursion recorded since November was about two weeks ago, when a plane's nose went over a hold line. The incident was relatively minor, he said.

Kurner said the FAA has worked around the country to find "local solutions to local problems" at airports, avoiding a cookie-cutter approach. The focus on local issues and action is working, he said.

Busch also credited the drop to efforts to better inform pilots on the airport's design. Meetings and literature have helped pilots understand when and where they should be.

Work is continuing. The FAA is funding construction of a new, $6 million control tower at the airport. Construction should be complete in August 2002.

Federal grants are paying about 90 percent of a new, $7.5 million runway that should be open by the end of this year. Revenue from the airports pay the local match, Grey said.