Your headline, "Pilot mistakes blamed for most runway incursions" (Flight International, 17-23 February) misses the point. Laying the blame on the pilots, air traffic controllers or vehicle drivers fails to address the real reasons behind runway incursions. All runway incursions can be attributed to human error. In the vast majority of cases this human error is caused by latent errors in the system. These include bad runway design, inadequate or ambiguous markings, signage or lighting, the non-use of standard radio phraseologies, and so on. When these latent errors are compounded with problems such as bad weather, time pressures and unfamiliar airfields, they stack up the odds against the pilot and in favour of the runway incursion accident.
The International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) has worked with and strongly supports the Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions from Eurocontrol. The aim of the plan is to implement initiatives and recommendations to improve airport safety and prevent runway incursions. IFALPA has also recently launched its Airport Liaison Representative Scheme to proactively work with airport authorities on airport safety issues and supports the establishment of Airport Safety Management Systems that share runway incursion information to learn the lessons from them, with a clear emphasis on causal and contributory factors.
Although pilots may be the "cause" of 60% of runway incursions, we are involved in 100% of them and we therefore have the greatest desire to eradicate them.
Dennis Dolan President, International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations, Chertsey, Surrey, UK
Source: Flight International
