Yesterday (Aug. 21), the FAA responded to an alarming article in The New York Times, published the same day, addressing what the paper called dangerous increases in close calls and near-collisions. Citing public records as well as internal FAA communications, the paper called out “at least 46 close calls involving commercial airlines last month alone.” While acknowledging that increases in air traffic over the past decade are one reason for the increases in close calls, the authors also blamed a combination of understaffed Air Traffic Control facilities and insufficient funding to install ground-collision-avoidance technology at airports.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-answers-news-report-of-increased-close-calls