An audit report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has highlighted challenges in the FAA’s approach to data-sharing and implementation of safety initiatives. The March 12 report, which assessed the FAA's efforts to analyze data and prevent runway incursions at primary commercial service airports, was conducted in response to a series of incidents in early 2023 where aircraft came dangerously close to one another on runways at busy commercial airports,

An independent safety review team issued 24 recommendations to the FAA in November 2023 addressing process integrity, staffing, facilities, and technology. As of October 2024, the FAA had implemented five of these recommendations and the OIG report also reviewed five recommendations to improve data sharing and prevent future incursions. 

These include completing the development and implementation of an integrated safety dashboard, establishing procedures to analyze safety data for decision-making, implementing suggestions from a draft MITRE report, developing cost estimates for its “Technology Sprint” initiative and runway surveillance technology, and providing regular updates to stakeholders, including Congress, on its progress.  

The FAA concurred with all five recommendations and has established completion dates. According to the OIG, it considers the recommendations as resolved but open pending the completion of planned actions.

Various actions have been taken by the FAA to address these issues, OIG found, including convening a safety summit and allocating over $200 million for runway incursion mitigation. However, the OIG report noted that the FAA lacks an integrated approach for analyzing runway incursion data across the agency, which limits its ability to identify emerging risks. The agency primarily conducts individual airport analyses, and incomplete data sharing across its divisions prevents full-scale assessments.  

The report also found that the FAA reviewed aviation safety information analysis and sharing data but concluded that it did not provide sufficient context to identify new trends in runway incursions.  “FAA has taken steps to mitigate runway incursions, but it has yet to implement several key initiatives,” it stated.

The FAA is currently deploying new airport surface surveillance technologies and other safety systems. In response to the 2023 incidents, the agency increased aviation safety awareness, engaged stakeholders, and continued with existing mitigation practices.