A controller's error led two aircraft at San Francisco International airport - one landing and one taking off - to come within an estimated nine metres (30ft) of collision at a runway intersection, according to a US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary bulletin.
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Diagram showing the point at which the two airplanes almost collided |
The collision was avoided when the captain of a Republic Airlines Embraer 170 regional jet, that had been cleared to take off from 01L, rotated early and managed to climb directly over the top of a Skywest Airlines Embraer Brasilia twin turboprop that had been cleared to land - by the same controller - on the intersecting runway 28R.
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Skywest Airlines Embraer Brasilia twin turboprop |
The Republic E-170 had been cleared for take-off one second before the Skywest Brasilia crossed the threshold of 28R, according to NTSB radar data.
Just 27 seconds later, the sound of an aural airport movement area safety system alert can be heard in the tower, and one second after that, the local controller transmitted: "Skywest hold hold hold."
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An Embraer 170, used by Republic Airlines |
Indications are that the pilots had applied maximum braking to do so, and the controllers' estimate of the minimum separation between the two aircraft was 91m.
Radar records, however, show that the returns for the two aircraft merged and became unreadable, and when they separated again the Republic E-170 was recorded as climbing through 200ft.
The Republic pilots' estimate of how close they came to collision was "30-50ft".
The NTSB is carrying out a full investigation into the incident, which occurred on 26 May. On 6 June NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker, testifying before the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, highlighted runway incursion as being one of five aviation safety issues on the board's list of "most wanted safety improvements" on which the US Federal Aviation Administration is judged to have failed to respond adequately.
In addition to runway incursion, the list includes: aircraft icing; improving audio and data recorders and requiring video recorders on aircraft; reducing accidents caused by human fatigue; and improving crew resource management training for air taxi operations.
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Source: FlightGlobal.com
