2 US Navy Jets Came Dangerously Close To Airliner - NTSB
Wednesday December 14, 1:35 PM EST
NORFOLK, Va. (AP)--Two U.S. Navy Reserve jets came dangerously close to a commercial airliner last month because of an error by a civilian air traffic controller, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded. A Southwest Airlines (LUV) Boeing 737 came within 100 feet in elevation and a half-mile in horizontal distance of two F/A-18C Hornets near Norfolk, Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in New York, said Tuesday. Rules require aircraft to be no closer than 1,000 feet in elevation and three miles horizontal distance from one another. No one was injured in the encounter at 4:30 p.m. EST Nov. 15, which was disclosed after an air traffic controller reported it anonymously to federal authorities and The Virginian-Pilot newspaper. if ((typeof tag336_1) == "function") { tag336_1(); } else { if (typeof(site) == "undefined" & typeof(moAdData) != "undefined")
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','336','280','3','1',116023,76339,'0','325',253);" onclick="pr_trk('ac',116023,1);" onmouseout="if(typeof(prRoll)=='function')prBExit(event);" shape=RECT target=_new coords=0,253,103,280 href="http://c4.excite.com/adclick/CID=0001672bc3ee6fed00000000/AREA=MONEY/SITE=Excite/AAMSZ=336x280/CM=31744/CR=17758/AD=288/CC=91947/ACB_RANDOM=8181960364?/relocate=http://www.scottrade.com/index.asp?supbid=61977";>
','336','280','3','2',116023,76340,'0','325',253);" onclick="pr_trk('ac',116023,2);" onmouseout="if(typeof(prRoll)=='function')prBExit(event);" shape=RECT target=_new coords=103,253,214,280 href="http://c4.excite.com/adclick/CID=0001672bc3ee6fed00000000/AREA=MONEY/SITE=Excite/AAMSZ=336x280/CM=31744/CR=17758/AD=288/CC=91947/ACB_RANDOM=8181960364?/relocate=http://www.scottrade.com/index.asp?supbid=61977";>
','336','280','3','3',116023,76341,'0','325',253);" onclick="pr_trk('ac',116023,3);" onmouseout="if(typeof(prRoll)=='function')prBExit(event);" shape=RECT target=_new coords=214,253,336,280 href="http://c4.excite.com/adclick/CID=0001672bc3ee6fed00000000/AREA=MONEY/SITE=Excite/AAMSZ=336x280/CM=31744/CR=17758/AD=288/CC=91947/ACB_RANDOM=8181960364?/relocate=http://www.scottrade.com/index.asp?supbid=61977";> A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded last week that one air traffic controller made an error, said Paul Schlamm, a spokesman for the agency in Washington. He declined to elaborate, saying it was now an FAA matter. In response to the incident, an FAA controller was suspended and given additional training, and two supervisors were disciplined for failing to properly report the close call. One of the supervisors, who was new to the job, also was ordered to take further training, Peters said. The airliner had taken off from Norfolk International Airport
en route to Orlando, Fla., and the Texas-based Navy Reserve jets had been headed toward Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. The Navy aircraft had been turned toward the Southwest plane's flight path by a civilian air traffic controller, said Mike Maus, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet Naval Air Force in Norfolk. The Navy pilots immediately radioed Navy air traffic controllers at Oceana, saying they had come "nose to nose with a 737," Maus said. (END) Dow Jones Newswires
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