BBC News
Surging demand for air travel and pandemic-fuelled workforce disruptions are likely to blame for a string of close calls on US airport runways.
That's according to leaders in the aviation industry, who met on Wednesday at an impromptu safety summit to address the spate of recent incidents.
The gathering took place a day after the launch of yet another federal probe into a near-collision between planes.
It is the seventh aviation incident to be investigated this year alone.
Federal officials are currently reviewing six "runway incursions" - as well as one plane's terrifying nosedive and near-plunge into the Pacific Ocean - for root causes and commonalities.
The latest near-miss occurred on 7 March at Washington DC's Reagan National Airport, when a Republic Airways flight crossed a runway without clearance and forced a United Airlines flight that had already been cleared for departure to abort its take-off.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is investigating the incident, said an air traffic controller had intervened to safely re-route the United pilot.
