An aviation expert said that air traffic controllers’ communications must improve in the USA after another near miss on a runway in Texas. The incident, which happened on Saturday, involved a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest airlines 737.
The 767 FedEx cargo plane was coming in to land as normal at Austin-Bergstrom International when inexplicably, the Southwest Airlines 737 was cleared to take off on the same runway. Thankfully, the two pilots could communicate with one another and narrowly avoided a collision.
Witnesses say that the two airplanes came within 100ft of one another, which may seem a lot to the naked eye, but is not much distance at all when it comes to aircraft and the speeds at which they travel.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, disaster was averted thanks to the pilot of the FedEx cargo plane diverting his landing. A statement from the FAA read:
“Shortly before the FedEx aircraft was due to land, the controller cleared Southwest Flight 708 to depart from the same runway. The FedEx discontinued the landing and initiated a climb enabling the Southwest flight to depart safely.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened up an investigation into the incident, labeling it a “possible runway incursion and overflight.”
Incidents Like This Are Increasing at an “Alarming Rate”
Aviation expert and qualified pilot Juan Browne has taken to his blancolirio YouTube channel to offer his thoughts on the situation. Browne believes the high turnover in air traffic control staff has played a part in the rise of near collisions on airport runways. He said.
“These sorts of incidents are increasing at an alarming rate. There’s a huge turnover in the industry, not only among pilots but among air traffic controllers, mechanics, maintainers, rompers, etc.
With the state of hiring practices and training today and the relentless effort to do things faster, cheaper, and more efficiently we’re just one radio call away from having the biggest aviation disaster in history.”
The poor visibility conditions on Saturday may well have played a part in the near-miss as well, with Browne offering insight into what the FedEx pilot would have been looking at and not looking at while the plane was descending onto the runway. He said:
“You’re making a low-visibility landing, so there’s nothing to look at outside. If somebody is out there in front of you, then you wouldn’t even be able to see it. This is why it’s so critical that there should never have been an aircraft cleared to take off in front of the aircraft landing doing an autolanding.
The FedEx pilot showed situational awareness to realize that another aircraft had been cleared by air traffic control. The tower had lost control of the situation, and the FedEx realized.”
Two Similar Incidents in as Many Months
Incidents where two airplanes come close to colliding with each other are known as “incursions” and are incredibly rare. However, the incursion in Texas on Saturday is the second time in as many months that one has happened in as many months in the US.
In January, a Delta aircraft and an American Airlines aircraft came close to colliding on a runway at JFK International in New York. On that occasion, the Delta pilot had to perform an emergency stop to avoid crashing into the American Airlines flight, which crossed its path under instruction from air traffic controllers.
The findings of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation are eagerly anticipated, and it will be interesting to see whether any new safety protocols are introduced. There are only so many times that you can get away with a near-miss until you have a catastrophe.
This post was produced and syndicated by The Impulse Traveler.
