Safe and dangerous airports

Which are the safest and which are the most dangerous airports?

In a Feb. 23, 2007 article entitled “America’s Most Dangerous Airports,” Forbes.com editors analyzed data for 452 airports and examined the size of the facility, numbers of takeoffs and landings, and severity of the incidents as categorized by the Federal Aviation Agency.

Since 2001, 108 travelers have died in ground collisions involving commercial airlines, the article reports. Many of the deaths occurred at highly congested airports.

Analysts blame congestion, weather, poor runway design, and pilot error. Many say the problem is only getting worse.

Topping the list of the nation’s most dangerous airports are smaller fields relieving bigger congested hubs.

Here‘s the Forbes list of most dangerous U.S. airports:

1. North Las Vegas – 63 incidents, five serious
2. Charlotte Douglas International – 15 incidents, one serious
3. Long Beach, Calif. – 78 incidents, none serious
4. Phoenix Sky Harbor International – 49 incidents, three serious
5. Los Angeles International – 95 incidents, eight serious
6. Boston-Logan International – 53 incidents, two serious
7. Newark International – 36 incidents, three serious
8. Chicago-O’Hare International – 68 incidents, eight serious
9. Philadelphia International – 36 incidents, two serious
10. Daytona Beach – 15 incidents, four serious
11. Chicago Midway International – 14 incidents, one serious
12. Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International – 14 incidents, four serious (no deaths)

City-Data.com provides this list of the 10 best airports in America:

1. Dallas/Fort Worth International
2. Kansas City International
3. Orlando International
4. Denver International
5. Minneapolis/St. Paul International
6. Atlanta Hartsfield
7. Seattle/Tacoma International
8. Houston Bush
9. Washington Reagan, Wash., D.C.
10. Pittsburgh International

CNN offers this list of the “World’s Worse Airports:”

1. Baghdad International
2. Indira Gandhi International
3. Lukla Airport, Nepal
4. Leopold Sedar Senghor International, Senegal
5. Los Angles International
6. London Heathrow, U.K.
7. Charles de Gaulle International, Paris

Here’s CNN’s take on the best airports in the world:

1. Hong Kong International
2. Changi International, Singapore
   
3. Incheon International Airport, Seoul, South Korea
4. Kuala Lumpur International, Malaysia
5. Munich Airport, Germany