NEW YORK, NY March 22, 2005 —An internal study by the Federal Aviation Administration has discovered planes landing at New York City's airports are flying too close together at a rate that's alarmingly high.

Planes violated the FAA's distance standard 117 times this January and February. That's conmpared to only 24 mistakes logged in all of 2004.

The FAA says the errors came to light as it investigated an increase in the number of complaints from disgruntled air traffic controllers at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Center, or TRACON, located in Westbury, on Long Island.

Joining WNYC to sort out the story is Newsday reporter Sylvia Adcock.

» Newsday.com