Sea-Tac Airport is in the midst of both Federal (NEPA) and State (SEPA) environmental reviews of the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). These reviews will determine by how much, if any, the airport can safely expand in the coming years. A key factor in this review is the airport’s ability to manage an increasing number of daily operations. However, anyone watching the news recently will notice a concerning trend: a rise in what the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) calls ‘occurrences.’
Occurrences is a broad term the FAA uses for any unexpected event involving an aircraft in motion, from minor ground incidents (eg ‘runway incursions’) to serious in-flight emergencies (accidents). While not all occurrences indicate a failure in traffic management, an increase in their frequency raises questions about whether Sea-Tac (or for that matter any) air traffic control and operational infrastructure can handle more flights safely.
In the past, we did not mention Occurrences because they were (thankfully) extremely infrequent. However, given the potential implications for safety and the community and their recent uptick, Sea-Tac Noise.info will now be tracking these occurrences and analyzing their impact on the airport’s expansion plans. If the number and severity of these incidents continue to grow, it will be critical to scrutinize whether increasing operations at Sea-Tac (or any airport with similar constraints) is a responsible decision. We believe that transparency on this issue is essential, and we will provide regular updates as we gather more data.
One anecdote: FAA data indicates that since January 2019, there have been at least 30 runway incursions at Sea-Tac, including two near-miss incidents occurring just days apart in 2024.
Stay tuned for our first report on FAA occurrences at Sea-Tac, and as always, we welcome input from community members and aviation professionals. If you have information or concerns to share, please contact us.