epic!
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Posted on Wed, Dec. 12, 2007
US Airways flight, small jet nearly collide in midair
AIRLINES
A US Airways flight bound for Charlotte and a small private jet leaving Statesville narrowly missed hitting each other Tuesday morning about 15 miles west of Greensboro, a representative of the air traffic controllers union said.
As US Airways Flight 829 heading southwest from Richmond, Va., was descending at about 7:50 a.m., a controller directed the private jet, heading northeast, to climb above Flight 829's path, said Calvin Phillips of the National Air Traffic Control Association. Phillips works at Atlanta Center, which directs air traffic for much of the Southeast, including Charlotte.
When the small jet's pilot said he couldn't climb that high, the controller tried to direct Flight 829 to hold its altitude, Phillips said. But the US Airways pilot didn't respond for several seconds, Phillips said, and the two planes ended up at about 16,500 feet and about eight-tenths of a mile apart.
Air traffic controllers generally try to keep either five miles or 1,000 feet of altitude between planes, Phillips said. The US Airways pilot ultimately saw the other jet and turned to avoid it, Phillips said.
US Airways spokesman Phil Gee said Flight 829 had 117 passengers and five crew members. The crew continued on to its next flight, Gee said, and US Airways is investigating the incident.
US Airways flight, small jet nearly collide in midair
AIRLINES
A US Airways flight bound for Charlotte and a small private jet leaving Statesville narrowly missed hitting each other Tuesday morning about 15 miles west of Greensboro, a representative of the air traffic controllers union said.
As US Airways Flight 829 heading southwest from Richmond, Va., was descending at about 7:50 a.m., a controller directed the private jet, heading northeast, to climb above Flight 829's path, said Calvin Phillips of the National Air Traffic Control Association. Phillips works at Atlanta Center, which directs air traffic for much of the Southeast, including Charlotte.
When the small jet's pilot said he couldn't climb that high, the controller tried to direct Flight 829 to hold its altitude, Phillips said. But the US Airways pilot didn't respond for several seconds, Phillips said, and the two planes ended up at about 16,500 feet and about eight-tenths of a mile apart.
Air traffic controllers generally try to keep either five miles or 1,000 feet of altitude between planes, Phillips said. The US Airways pilot ultimately saw the other jet and turned to avoid it, Phillips said.
US Airways spokesman Phil Gee said Flight 829 had 117 passengers and five crew members. The crew continued on to its next flight, Gee said, and US Airways is investigating the incident.
