'Runway incursions': Rare, but rising

FAA data shows an increase in incidents such as last week's near-collision of two planes at Charlottte/Douglas International Airport runway.

As described in an Observer story, the Federal Aviation Administration reports 24 runway incursions at CLT in the last six years.

Last Friday's incursion, when a US Airways Express regional jet and a single-engine plane came to rest 10 feet apart, will likely be considered an 'A,' which is the most severe after an actual collision. No injuries or damage resulted.

Click on the images to the right to see enlarged data charts of runway incursions for North Carolina airports, taken from a federal runway safety report. The information is for four fiscal years leading up to Sept. 30, 2007. Numbers after that were supplied by the FAA.

- Jefferson George