Sign In to E-Mail or Save Th= F.A.A. Wants Stoplights Added to Runways =0A=0ASign In to E-Mail or Save Th= is =0APrint =0AReprints =0AShare =0ADigg=0AFacebook=0AMixx=0AYahoo! Buzz=0A= Permalink=0A=0A=0A=0ABy MATTHEW L. WALD=0APublished: March 26, 2008=0AWASHI= NGTON =97 The Federal Aviation Administration will add a runway version of = traffic signals at 20 busy airports in the next three and a half years, the= agency said Monday. The signals are part of a program to keep taxiing airp= lanes or vehicles from intruding on runways where other planes are taking o= ff and landing.=0AReducing runway incursions has been a priority but a toug= h problem for the F.A.A. as the tempo of airport operations has increased. = =0AThe system will have a computer that determines when a runway is in use,= and then turns on red lights embedded in the pavement at each intersection= . Thus it would help address errors by pilots and by controllers at the 20 = airports, which include Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty In= ternational Airport but not La Guardia Airport. =0AThe system could have pr= evented two close calls at airports in New York. In July 2005, at Kennedy, = a fully loaded Boeing 767 moved onto an active runway as a cargo plane, a D= C-8, was on takeoff roll (the cargo plane climbed steeply to avoid the pass= enger plane=92s tail. And in July 2007, at La Guardia, a controller mistake= nly cleared a commuter plane to taxi across a runway as another jet touched= down; the controller told the commuter plane to hurry up. =0AThe agency sa= id it had asked companies to submit proposals for the 20 airports. It also = said it would offer $5 million to share the costs for developing technologi= es to avoid runway collisions. =0AThe F.A.A. has systems that alert tower c= ontrollers, but the National Transportation Safety Board, an advisory agenc= y, has been arguing that a system is needed to alert pilots directly. =0ATh= e agency said in a briefing on Monday that new paint and signage, training = and other steps have cut the number of the most serious intrusions. In the = two most serious categories, in the 2001 fiscal year, there were 53; in fis= cal 2007, there were 24, and for the first half of the current fiscal year,= 14. Most involved private or corporate planes, not scheduled airlines. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".