Investigators said Thursday that an incoming FedEx cargo plane came within less than 200 feet of hitting a Southwest Airlines jet last year in Austin, Texas, after both were cleared to use the same runway.
The FedEx co-pilot saw the Southwest plane at the last second, and the cargo plane's crew pulled up, flying over the top of the Southwest jet, which was carrying 128 passengers and crew members.
“This incident could have been catastrophic if not for the heroic actions of the FedEx crew,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at the start of the panel’s hearing on the close call.
The five-member safety board heard descriptions of the incident from investigators and was expected to vote on a probable cause of the incident later Thursday.
The FedEx plane was making its final approach to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when it nearly hit the top of the Southwest Boeing 737, which was roaring down the runway for takeoff in thick fog.
The air traffic controller said he had expected the Southwest jet — which he couldn't see through the fog — to take off more quickly. In hindsight, the controller said, he could have made the Southwest crew wait until the FedEx Boeing 767 landed.
NTSB investigators said controllers in Austin had not recently trained for nor worked in low-visibility conditions. “As a result,” investigator Brian Soper said, the controller who cleared both planes to use the same runway “was not adequately prepared to handling the traffic” that morning.
Investigators pointed out that the Austin airport lacked radar-based ground-tracking technology — in use at 43 other U.S. airports — that would have helped the controller track the planes. The Federal Aviation Administration has announced plans to make GPS-based tracking technology available to more airports, including Austin.
Investigators also noted that the Southwest pilots were still 550 feet short of the runway when they said they were ready to take off. When they reached the runway, they held longer to run up the engines. The pilots should have told the controller they needed more time, investigator Warren Abrams, a former airline captain, said.
Board member Michael Graham called the incident a failure of aviation safety.
“We had two aircraft within 200 feet of each other, and that should not happen,” Graham said. He noted the lack of airport ground radar or warnings of a potential collision to the pilots. He said in judgment and decision-making, the air traffic controller and the Southwest crew failed.
“If it was not for FedEx crew’s last minute go around, we might be having a different discussion today,” Graham said.
FedEx co-pilot Robert Bradeen Jr. was in the audience Thursday and received an ovation. FedEx captain Hugo Carvajal III, who was not at the hearing, previously told investigators he was irritated and perplexed when he heard the controller clearing the Southwest jet to take off from the same runway he was approaching.
The incident was among several close calls last year that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to call a “safety summit” of aviation industry participants.
FAA officials have maintained that U.S. aviation has never been safer. However, a panel of independent experts concluded last year that the safety margin is shrinking and the FAA needs better staffing and technology to manage the nation's airspace.
The NTSB plans to publish its report on the Austin incident in several weeks.
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