Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Mike Carey (R-OH) sounded the alarm on the frightening rise of commercial airline near-collisions occurring under President Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“American airline passengers should not have to fear that the next time they board a flight it might be their last,” said Rep. Carey. “This year, there have been more than 300 near-collisions across America’s airports, with 46 near-collisions occurring in the month of July alone. This is unacceptable, especially as any one of these incidents could have turned tragic.”
Data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicates that this fiscal year there have been 1,590 runway incursions through September 11, 2023. Of these incursions, more than 300 were near-collisions between commercial airplanes.
A near-collision occurs when two planes get too close to each other, forcing a pilot to slam on the brakes. Since airplanes are going at speeds well over 150 miles per hour at takeoff and landing, these incidents could easily turn deadly. FAA guidelines already specify that planes are not supposed to get within 3 miles horizontally and 1,000 vertically feet of each other.
Congressman Carey sent a letter today to Secretary Buttigieg calling on him to explain what is behind this dangerous rise in near-collisions and make transparent what the Transportation Department and FAA are doing to mitigate them. You can read the letter here.