Latest airport close call raises concerns about transportation safety
Aviation expert and pilot Kyle Bailey on factors contributing to a rise in airport close calls on ‘Fox & Friends.’
A near-miss incident between a JetBlue commercial flight and a private jet at Boston's Logan International Airport has prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The close call is the fifth incident in 2023, prompting fears over airline travel safety.
One aviation expert argued numerous factors could be at play in the rise of near-miss occurrences.
NEW YORK AIRPORT CLOSE CALL BETWEEN TWO PASSENGER PLANS ON RUNWAY UNDER INVESTIGATION
"There are some problems. The incidents, quite frankly, are on the rise. We went from about eight a year and now this year up to about 20 per year or so. The problem is on the rise, and it is a combination of various factors," pilot Kyle Bailey said on "Fox & Friends" Thursday.
Bailey explained one of those concerning factors that could be at play is distractions from phones and social media.
Boston, MA, United States - February 19, 2019: American Airlines Embraer ERJ-140 waiting for take-off from Boston Logan International Airport after snow. (iStock)
"One thing I'm really concerned about, too, is social media and the use of iPhones. Yes, they are prohibited while operating an aircraft, an airplane, and also while a controller is in the control tower. But I'm seeing on social media, on YouTube, a lot of videos of pilots posting videos while they're sitting in the plane before the plane is actually operating," he said.
"Is this a distraction? Is a pilot checking his iPhone to see if his connecting flight is going to be on time if he's going back home?"
Bailey also noted other problems including pilot fatigue as many pilots are overworked and underpaid following the pandemic.
"One of them could very well be pilot fatigue. They're overworked, the pilots are overworked and there's a lot to deal with," he said.
"It's a combination of many things. Fatigue, I think, is playing a part."
While some have pointed out a shortage of aviation employees, Bailey argued that the issues with airport safety are "on the operations of the airplane, whether it's one pilot or two pilots."
Prior to Monday's close call, four other incidents occurred across major U.S. airports. The first incident of 2023 occurred on January 13 between a Delta Air Lines and American Airlines plane at JFK International Airport.
Other near-miss events happened at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas and the Hollywood Burbank Airport in California.
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Airlines have complained about a shortage for several years, but they made it worse during the pandemic by encouraging pilots to take early retirement when air travel collapsed in 2020.
The government estimates that there will be about 18,000 openings per year for airline and commercial pilots this decade, with many of those replacing retirees. However, the Federal Aviation Administration issued on average only half that number of pilot licenses from 2017 through 2021.
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