In FY 2005, there were 327 runway incursions, of which 29 were serious Category A and B incidents, according to the FAA’s regional administrator for the Western-Pacific region. Testifying before Congress earlier this week, Bill Withycombe said that in terms of error types, there were 169 pilot deviations, 105 ATC operational deviations and 53 vehicle/pedestrian deviations. “While pilot deviations are the most common type of runway incursion, they accounted for only 31 percent of serious incursions in the past fiscal year,†he said. Deviations and errors by air traffic controllers, on the other hand, “accounted for only 32 percent of total deviations, but 55 percent of serious deviations, which represents a notable change in the distribution of runway incursion types with respect to severity.â€
