Collision within 30 meters of abnormal approach at US airport, pilot judged to avoid- CNN.co.jp
The passenger and cargo planes collided at Austin, Texas International Airport. /Kirby Lee/AP/File
Published on Tuesday 2023.02.07 11:46 JST
(CNN) The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on the 4th that a Southwest Airlines passenger plane and a FedEx cargo plane approached each other at Austin International Airport in Texas. The two planes were less than 30 meters apart before colliding. It is the actions of the pilots, not the control tower, that prevent disaster from happening.
NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy told CNN on Thursday that a FedEx Boeing 767 was trying to land at Austin Airport and a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was taking off from the airport. The airport control tower directed me to the same runway. The FedEx crew realized they were flying over the Southwest.
The pilot of the FedEx flight instructed the Southwest Airlines crew to hold off on takeoff. Meanwhile, the FedEx plane aborted the landing and climbed to avoid a collision, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
“I’m very proud of the FedEx crew and that pilot,” he said. “They saved 128 people from a potential disaster,” he noted.
FedEx was approximately 3 miles (5.9 km) away when the control tower allowed southwest departures from runway 18 left. The FedEx plane was approaching within about four kilometers when the control tower allowed it to land on runway 18.
In 2017, the NTSB recommended that the control tower adopt ASDE, a collision prevention device.
The device helped prevent a runway accident at JFK Airport in New York City last month, Homendy said. However, only 35 airports use ASDE, and Austin’s airport does not yet.
“In this case, the control tower could see the FedEx plane on the radar, but in Austin, they couldn’t see where the Southwest plane was on the ground,” Mr. Homendy said.
Passenger plane and cargo plane collide at 30 meters at U.S. airport on abnormal approach
