This story comes from our news partner, ABC13. For more on this story, click here.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — While there hasn’t been a deadly commercial airplane crash in 15 years, it doesn’t mean there haven’t been close calls, including in Houston.
The deadly collision in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, has shaken those in the aviation industry.
“I didn’t sleep last night,” TSU aviation program executive director Terrance Fountaine recalled.
Fountaine’s overseen a program that’s grown, but his message remains the same.
“We make sure that students understand, even from the age of 18 or 19 years old, the number one thing you have to be concerned with is safety,” Fountaine said.
Before Wednesday night, there hadn’t been a deadly commercial plane crash in the U.S. in 15 years, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been close calls.
FAA data shows that there were about 1,500 runway incidents nationwide last year, a lower number than the year before.
Closer to home, the number rose. Texas is one of five states in the southwest region where the number of runway incidents climbed from 225 to 240 from 2023 to 2024.
Runway incidents don’t necessarily mean a crash happened, but it could mean someone was on the runway when they shouldn’t have been.
An investigation is underway to discover how the helicopter and airplane collided in D.C.
SkyEye reporter Tammy Rose is waiting for answers.
“I started to cry,” Rose recalled. “I’ve known way too many people in this business. People that I knew have died in airplane and helicopter crashes.”
The FAA told ABC13 it had invested money to make their runways safer. There are runway status lights at IAH.
Both airports have airport surface detection equipment.
But it’s waiting for others, including technology, to help with airplane approaches and what’s on the surface.
Rose said the pilot relies on the control tower and their eyes no matter what new technology is used.
“When we’re on final approach, I’m telling our news desk we’re making our final decent, and I won’t take any more assignments if we’re on final approach,” Rose said.
While it may take months to figure out what happened in D.C., industry experts believe one thing is certain– changes are coming.
While passengers may not notice the coming improvements, it could still change the industry.
“I’m not sure exactly who was at fault, why they were at fault, but it just goes to show you anything can happen when you’re in the air,” Fountaine explained.
