WASHINGTON — Air travelers face a high risk of a catastrophic collision on U.S. airport runways because of faltering federal leadership, malfunctioning technology and overworked controllers, congressional investigators said Wednesday.

The investigators gave the Federal Aviation Administration credit for reducing runway safety incidents from a peak in 2001. But they said the agency’s “runway safety efforts subsequently waned” as the number of incidents settled at a lower level.

Then, in the 2007 budget year that ended Sept. 30, the incidents spiked to 370 — 6.05 incidents per 1 million air traffic control operations. That approached the level in 2001, when there were 407 runway incursions and a 6.1 rate. An incursion is any aircraft, vehicle or person that goes where it should not be in space reserved for takeoff or landing.

At this time, “no single office is taking charge of assessing the causes of runway safety problems and taking the steps needed to address those problems,” the Government Accountability Office said in a report requested by Rep. Jerry F. Costello, D-Ill., and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J.

Then-Federal Aviation Administrator Marion Blakey stepped into that leadership void in August by calling an industrywide conference to produce ideas for quick action. In October, the FAA reported progress on recommendations from the conference, including speeding up improved runway markings and pilot training. The GAO report approved of those moves but also recommended more leadership from the FAA, better data collection and less overtime required of controllers.

“This report makes clear that the Bush administration is cutting corners and failing to put passenger safety first,” Lautenberg said. “The FAA is taking too many chances and ignoring too many red flags.”

This year has seen dramatic near-misses:

A Delta Boeing 757 touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on July 11 and had to take off immediately to avoid hitting a United Airbus A320 mistakenly on its runway.

A Delta Boeing 737 landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on July 5 narrowly missed a commuter jet mistakenly cleared to cross its runway.

On Aug. 16, two commercial jets carrying 296 people came within 37 feet of colliding at Los Angeles International.

Since 1990, 63 people have died in six U.S. runway collisions.