Denver International Airport has asked Federal Aviation authorities to review its training and safety programs following some recent close calls on its runways.
The two incidents are classified as “incursions,” instances in which unauthorized cars or other airplanes appeared on runways and compromised safety. On Jan. 31, a vehicle crossed onto a runway as an aircraft was getting ready to take off. And on Feb. 9, a Key Lime cargo plane missed a turn and wound up on a runway as Frontier Airlines was taking off from the other end. Air traffic controllers had to warn the pilots to abort the takeoff.
“As soon as these two issues happened we took immediate action to make sure all the signage was clear, did this happen on a snow event? Did this happen during a clear day? Was visibility an issue? We wanted to look at things to see what could be changed right away,” said DIA spokesperson Jeff Green.
Green says DIA officials wrote a letter to the FAA requesting that it review the airport’s safety training programs. That’s in addition to a separate investigation the FAA is making into the incursions. DIA was investigated for similar incidents in 2007.
