The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered air traffic controllers at Centennial Airport to stop simultaneous parallel takeoffs and touch-and-go landings after flagging two near-midair collisions at the Arapahoe County facility. The restriction, which began October 1, applies at the busy general aviation hub south of Denver.
According to CBS News Colorado, the FAA is restricting takeoffs at the airport after flagging two near-midair collisions.
A Runway Layout Built for Trouble
Part of the concern comes down to geometry. Centennial's two parallel runways, 17L/35R and 17R/35L, sit only about 700 feet apart, according to Avi-Go — a configuration a controller has called inherently risky. The close spacing has raised concerns about aircraft drift during parallel departures.
It isn't the airfield's first brush with this exact danger. In May 2021, two aircraft approaching Centennial's parallel runways collided in midair near Cherry Creek State Park, an incident the National Transportation Safety Board attributed to pilot error and controller communication failures, as reported by The Colorado Sun. A Cirrus SR22 involved in that collision landed using its airframe parachute, while a damaged Swearingen Metroliner also landed safely, and both planes came down without injuries.
Pilots Say the FAA Skipped the Paperwork
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says the shutdown order itself came with a procedural problem. Controllers were told to halt parallel departures and touch-and-go landings on October 1 without the FAA issuing a Notice to Air Missions or updating the airport's automated weather broadcast for nearly a week, the group reported. Federal grant assurances and aviation regulations typically require prompt official notice to pilots when airfield operations change, which is the crux of AOPA's objection.
Flight Schools Feel the Squeeze
The touch-and-go ban has had significant effects on flight training and businesses. Centennial hosts multiple flight academies that depend heavily on repeated landing-and-takeoff maneuvers to train new pilots.
Some displaced training traffic could move from Centennial to other area airfields.
More Than a Training Airport
Centennial Airport handles more than 300,000 aircraft operations a year, per the airport's own figures.
What Happens Next
The FAA is conducting a Safety Risk Management panel.
