WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation

Administration said Tuesday it is opening an audit into runway

incursion risks at the 45 busiest U.S. airports after a series

of troubling near miss incidents.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said

air-traffic controllers cleared an Alaska Airlines jet

last month to take off at Tennessee's Nashville International

Airport on the same runway where a Southwest Airlines ( LUV )

plane had been cleared to cross.

The runway incursion audit will include a risk profile for

each airport, along with identifying potential gaps in

procedures, equipment, and processes, and recommendations to

improve safety and is expected to be concluded in early 2025.

Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents have

raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on

understaffed air-traffic-control operations. FAA Administrator

Mike Whitaker said last month the number of serious

runway-incursion incidents had fallen by over 50%.