AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday the installation of new ground safety tools at the air traffic control tower at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
The tool, called Approach Runway Verification (ARV), provides visual and audible warnings to air traffic controllers when approaching aircraft are lined up to land on the wrong airport surface or at the wrong airport, the FAA said. .
AUS was the newest tower to begin using the safety technology, according to a statement from the FAA.
“A safe national airspace system begins and ends at the airport surface,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. “Providing controllers with tools such as runway approach verification improves situational awareness of the airport surface, which is paramount to improving safety.”
Austin Airport was the only airport in Texas listed to accept the new ARV technology. But the FAA said it will continue installing ARVs at other facilities across the country through the remainder of this year and into 2025.
“ARV is one of three road situational awareness solutions that make up the FAA's Rapid Roadway Safety Portfolio,” the FAA said. “Other tools are Runway Intrusion Device (RID) and Ground Awareness Initiative (SAI).”
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In February 2023, a near miss occurred between two planes in the AUS. The FAA said FedEx Flight 1432 was cleared to land on Runway 18 left, but shortly before it was scheduled to land, air traffic controllers cleared Southwest Flight 708 to depart from the same runway.
“The pilot of the FedEx aircraft aborted the landing and began a climb,” FAA officials said in a statement. “The Southwest flight departed safely.”
In December 2023, data on a Southwest Airlines flight showed that a plane took off for several minutes at a height of 600 feet above the ground as another aircraft had not yet left the runway.
At the time, the FAA said that “there was no loss of safe separation between the Southwest flight and other aircraft.”
Multiple similar incidents at the Austin airport have prompted government agencies to step in and increase safety measures.
