The Friedman Files

In May, we first reported the concerns surrounding the use of high speed tugs on the airport runways at DFW.  American Ailrines bought them to save fuel, by pulling planes from gates to maintainance bays without turning on the plane’s engines.

But, when one plane was accidently pulled into the path of another plane coming in for landing, the FAA started to question the safety of the program.  Air traffic controllers added more concerns about planes being towed across runways at night without any lights.

Now, in a letter we obtained, the FAA seems to be saying the fuel saving measure may not be worth the risk to passengers.  FAA inspectors recommend the airport re-evaluate the necessity of the program.   I wanted to insert the full letter here – but the old blogging tool wouldn’t cooperate tonight — so look at the next posting below this one on my blog and you can see the full copy.

The really interesting unanswered question here is:  why couldn’t the tug drivers stop in time to avoid that near miss.  Mechanics at AA tell me privately that they question whether a 777 loaded with fuel is just too much weight for the tug’s brakes to handle.  Others have suggested the brakes didn’t work the way they were designed.  We’ll see.  The tug involved in the April near miss is now at the manufacturer in Germany for tests.  AA, DFW and the FAA are all waiting for the results to decide if hgih speed towing across runways is really a good idea.