McCarran to land new technology in 2002

Monday, June 4, 2001 | 11:05 a.m.

McCarran International Airport will be one of 33 airports nationwide to receive sophisticated new technology designed to prevent collisions on and near runways.

Federal Aviation Authority and McCarran officials said last week the technology would help improve conditions at what is already a safe airport.

The new technology, called the Airport Movement Area Safety System, uses existing ground and air radar to warn controllers of potential collisions. The system software interprets data from the radar and alerts controllers when conditions are dangerous.

The system has been tested at the San Francisco and Detroit airports and now is to be added to 31 other major airports between July 2001 and November 2002.

McCarran should get the technology in July 2002. Jerry Snyder, FAA spokesman, said the Las Vegas airport is getting the technology not because of dangerous conditions, but because of the number of passengers who pass through the airport.

With about 900 flights in and out daily, McCarran is seventh nationally in terms of volume of operations, said Rhonda Oldham, the FAA's air traffic manager at the McCarran control tower.

The technology is designed to combat a problem dubbed "runway incursion." Incursions can include planes, people or ground vehicles on runways when other planes are landing or taking off.

Most of these wrong-place, wrong-time incidents are relatively minor. However, the potential exists for a serious accident. FAA controllers, airlines and some passengers are particularly concerned when passenger carriers are involved.

The FAA's announcement comes when the number of airplanes, vehicles and people erroneously entering runways is increasing. The number of runway incursions nationally grew from 230 in 1994 to 431 in 2000. This year there are even more -- 130 during the first four months of 2001, compared with 118 during the same period in 2000.

"Even one runway incursion is a problem," Oldham said. One is the number of incursions reported at McCarran last year, which federal and local officials say they want to reduce to zero.

But the North Las Vegas Airport had 16 runway incursions last year, the most in the nation. Because the North Las Vegas Airport sees far fewer passengers in its emphasis on privately held small planes and helicopters, it won't be getting the new technology any time soon, FAA officials said.

The number of runway incursions has dropped dramatically as a result of safety measures, Clark County Aviation Department and FAA officials said.

"As of May 21 of this year, they have had two," Snyder said. "That is because of an aggressive program that has nothing to do with AMASS."

That program includes improving ground and sign signals and intensive training for pilots and ground personnel. Officials are quick to note that the North Las Vegas Airport did not have any serious accidents because of runway incursions. The response was due to the threat of a serious accident.

Putting the technology to work at McCarran is part of the system's testing program, Oldham said.

Hilarie Grey, McCarran public affairs manager, predicted passengers at McCarran would never notice the system's "extra layer of safety."

The technology will be most valuable at airports, unlike McCarran, that often have limited visibility because of bad weather, she said.

But the system is welcome, in part because of the growing passenger volume at McCarran. The airport had almost 37 million people fly in and out last year.

By 2010 McCarran officials expect to reach the airport's capacity of 55 million passengers annually. A reliever airport planned for the Ivanpah Valley, near the California border, is expected to draw some passengers.

But well before the Ivanpah airport opens, McCarran will have to use the north-south runway for passenger arrivals and departures, Grey said. That runway is used mainly for smaller private planes.

With the second, east-west runway also in operation, the risk of runway incursions will rise, she said.

"That would be an area that might be of greater concern down the road," Grey said. "As we continue to grow, you will see more simultaneous operations.

"You never can be too safe when it comes to these things," she said.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the new technology. The National Transportation Safety Board, another federal agency occasionally at odds with the FAA, has said the system doesn't go far enough.

NTSB officials said they want the FAA to develop technology that warns pilots when someone is on a runway, rather than a system that alerts controllers when there is a strong chance of a collision.

But Snyder said the technology is only one element of "a multipronged attack" that will help provide a larger answer to the problem.

The Associated Press

contributed to this story.