From Airwise.com:
August 9, 2005
Aviation authorities are drafting new safety plans for Boston's Logan Airport after a series of runway mishaps, including the near-collision of two passenger jets, aviation officials said on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after a close shave on Monday when a FedEx cargo plane driven by a mechanic blundered across an active runway, forcing a passenger jet to delay takeoff -- the 14th runway mishap at Logan since October 2004.
"After he crossed the runway, the mechanic acknowledged that he should not have crossed the runway," said Jim Peters, a spokesman for Federal Aviation Administration.
Monday's incident followed a more serious near-miss on June 9 when a US Airways Boeing 737 bound for Philadelphia came within seconds of being struck by an Aer Lingus aircraft headed for Ireland taking off on an intersecting runway.
The US Airways jet avoided a collision by delaying takeoff and the two missed each other by 170 feet (52 metres).
Boston's Logan has recorded twice the number of runway incidents as similar-sized airports since October 2004, according to the FAA and state port authority Massport.
"While there has been an increase of incidents at Logan over the previous years we are working to formulate a plan and identify what can be done to eliminate them," said Peters.
"You're not going to have a perfect system. What you can do is take steps to help prevent the incidents," he added.
The latest safety plan was being compiled by the FAA, Massport and commercial airlines which use the airport. It was now in its draft form, said Peters, declining to comment on its proposed measures.
(Reuters)
Sounds like they may be thinking there's a systemic issue at BOS