JFK Takes a Runway Offline
An overworked and underpaved runway at New York's JFK International Airport, left, was closed for reconstruction March 1, 2010 even though it handles 40% of all airline traffic at the airport. The runway, one of the longest commercial runways in the world, was repaved with concrete instead of less-durable asphalt and widened to accommodate bigger planes. Delays from the construction at one of the nation's largest airports were said to have disrupted travel at airports nationwide.
Also at JFK, a child was caught on tape directing planes and giving pilots instructions from the control tower on Feb. 17, 2010. His father brought him to work in the control tower, which handles some 1,000 takeoffs and landings each day, and then decided to put him to work as well. The FAA says both the controller and the supervising controller have been relieved of their duties.