Near mid-air collisions cause changes
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- National Transportation Safety Board concerned about near misses during aborted landings
- Board says standards inadequate, recommends FAA improve aircraft separation
- Incidents, four last year, occurred in Las Vegas, New York and Charlotte
- Safety issue arises when planes scrub landing and then pull up to circle airport
The National
Transportation Safety Board recommended the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) change its standards to ensure safe aircraft
separation in cases of a "go-around." That's when pilots cut short a
landing at the last minute and pull up to circle the airport before
making another try.
NTSB Chairwoman Deborah
Hersman outlined four incidents in 2012 and one in 2006 when planes
initiating "go-arounds" and got dangerously close to aircraft taking off
or landing.
Three occurred at Las
Vegas's McCarran airport, one at New York's John F Kennedy airport and
one at Charlotte-Douglass International.
"The NTSB is concerned
that in these events, ATC (air traffic control) was not able to ensure
the safe separation of aircraft." Hersman wrote in a letter to FAA
Administrator Michael Huerta.
Crashes were only avoided because pilots took evasive maneuvers, she wrote.
The FAA oversees air traffic operations.
In each of the incidents,
the flight paths would not have intersected had the plane landed
successfully instead of conducting the "go around."
Controllers under
current rules are required to ensure there is enough space between
aircraft during take offs and landings. But there is a gap in
regulations when those paths converge during "go arounds," the NTSB
said.
The FAA said in a statement that it takes the recommendations seriously and will respond within 90 days.
The FAA said its thoroughly investigated the close-call incidents and took aggressive steps to address the causes.
The incidents cited by the NTSB include:
On July 30, 2012, a
Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 was executing a go around at Las Vegas and
came within a quarter mile horizontally, and 100 feet vertically of a
Cessna Citation landing on a separate runway.
The same day at JFK, an
American Airlines Boeing 737 aborted landing and came within a third of a
mile horizontally and 300 feet vertically a from a Pinnacle Airlines
CRJ-200 regional jet. The NTSB reported the pilot of the American jet
radioed "we are turning as tightly as we can" while the Pinnacle pilot
said on another frequency "we are trying not to hit this aircraft off
our right."
On July 14, 2012, an
ExpressJet Embraer 145 at Charlotte came within 1,000 feet horizontally
and 400 feet vertically of an Air Wisconsin CRJ that was departing.
On April 26, 2012, a Jet
Blue A320 conducting a go around came within a third of a mile
horizontally and 100 feet vertically of a Learjet 60 at Las Vegas.
On January 27, 2006, a
United Airlines A320 aborted a landing and came within 1,400 feet
horizontally and 300 feet vertically of a departing American 757 at Las
Vegas.
Story source: By Aaron Cooper, CNN
July 2, 2013
