LAX Taxiway Could Reduce Near Misses

City officials could reduce the number of near misses between aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport if they moved two runways on the south side of the airport farther apart and built a parallel taxiway between them, according to a report to be released next week.

The taxiway could help prevent pilots who land on the outer runway from crossing the path of airplanes taking off on the inner runway by giving them a place to wait for instructions from air traffic controllers, the NASA study found.

A push to rebuild the airport’s southern runway system is the latest in a four-year effort by the city agency that operates LAX to solve the seemingly intractable problem of near misses at the 40-year-old airfield.

“This is the next leap forward in improving safety,” said Michael DiGirolamo, a deputy executive director at the airport agency. “We’ve done everything we can possibly do. There’s really nothing else out there -- without physical change to the current configuration of the airfield.”

From 1997 to 2000, LAX had 13 serious near-crashes, more than any of the nation’s other busiest airports. The number of incidents has decreased since 2000, following an effort to educate pilots about the airport’s unusual geometry.

Another factor may have been the drop in air traffic after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Officials also spent $5 million to install more lighting and signs and to enlarge markings at the end of taxiways.

There were nine near misses at LAX in the 2001 fiscal year and six in 2002, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA considered five incidents in those years serious. In the 2003 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the airport logged nine near misses. None of these were in the serious categories.

LAX is particularly prone to near misses because its airfield wasn’t built to handle today’s larger aircraft, and the runways don’t meet an FAA requirement that they be at least 1,000 feet apart.

About 80% of the near misses at LAX over the last three years occurred on the south airfield when an aircraft taxiing from the outer runway to the terminals came too close to an airplane taking off on the inner runway. Aircraft take off at LAX on the inner runways to shield nearby neighborhoods from noise.

Air traffic controllers and LAX officials agree that, as air traffic returns to pre-9/11 levels, the possibility of near misses may again increase. Getting the airport’s south runway system rebuilt, however, is likely to take some time.

The $233-million proposal is included in Mayor James K. Hahn’s $9-billion modernization plan for the world’s fifth-busiest airport. City officials decided to piggyback on environmental studies for Hahn’s plan in the hopes they could rebuild the south runway system more quickly.

In addition, the Airport Commission voted earlier this year to pay the firm HNTB $4.9 million to design the south airfield changes so the city could start construction if Hahn’s plan was approved in late 2004.

But the mayor’s plan faces stiff opposition from airlines, residents and several influential local and federal lawmakers. If the plan isn’t approved, officials say, they will pull the runway reconfiguration out of the proposal and make it a stand-alone project.

Officials also need to convince El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon that moving the outer runway 50 feet closer to his community is necessary. Gordon said he would consider endorsing the plan if the change would reduce from the current monthly average of 185 the number of aircraft that fly over El Segundo because they’re told by controllers to fly around again. A consultant hired by the city is studying the proposal, he said.

LAX air traffic controllers say the NASA study provides the first definitive evidence that rebuilding the southern runway system could decrease the number of near misses.

The $250,000 study was conducted at a facility known as FutureFlight Central at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Controllers tested the proposed south runway configuration in a virtual tower that featured a 360-degree, high-resolution picture of the airfield, giving participants the feeling that they were actually working at LAX.

“Going into it, we really didn’t know what to expect,” said Elliot Brann, an air traffic controller at LAX who participated in the study. “Once we ran it a couple times, it really jumped out at us right away that this is definitely better for safety.”

Four LAX controllers and 25 pilots participated in the tests, using a mix of aircraft from 22 airlines and actual traffic logged at the airport in 2000 to run 12 simulations.

The study found that the new taxiway, in addition to improving safety, eased traffic near airport terminals.

“It had the surprising effect of reducing ramp congestion,” said Dave Kurner, regional runway safety program manger for the FAA, who participated in the tests.

“Everyone had a place to go.... It seemed to get them into the gates better.”

This is important for pilots, who often complain that crowded gate areas at LAX where aircraft exit and enter terminal areas also compromise safety.