Planes Nearly Collide At JFK Airport

Jets Came Within A Half-Mile Of Colliding; 2nd Such Incident This Week

(AP)  Two airborne planes — one landing and the other taking off — came within a half-mile of colliding at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday in the second such incident at the airport in a week, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The FAA moved quickly to change takeoff and landing procedures at JFK on perpendicular runways — the kind of runways involved in both incidents.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said a Delta Flight 123 was arriving at the airport Friday when the pilot decided to abort his landing and execute a "go-around" — a routine procedure often used during heavy congestion. That caused the Delta flight to intersect with the flight path of Comair Flight 1520, a regional jet that was taking off on another runway.

The FAA ordered new procedures Friday afternoon to change the way takeoffs and landings on perpendicular runways are sequenced, Brown said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The new procedures are designed to ensure "that aircraft of one runway clear out of the path of the other runway before the second flight comes down on the other runway," Brown said. "We've had two events recently and I think we want to make sure the appropriate safety margins are in place."

Last Saturday, a Cayman Airways flight was landing at JFK when the pilot decided to abort the landing a fly around the airport again as a LAN Chile jet was taking off. Their flight paths crossed, bringing the planes within about 200 feet of each other vertically and a half-mile horizontally. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating that incident.

On Friday, the Delta jet, a Boeing 757, and the Comair plane, a Bombardier CRJ9, came within 600 feet of each other vertically and a half-mile horizontally, the FAA said.

The agency said it was not classifying either incident as a "near collision" because there was no violation of standards for how apart planes can fly, Brown said.

Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin initially said the incident took place a week ago on July 4. However, Laughlin later told The Associated Press that the FAA was correct, and the incident took place on Friday at 1:20 p.m. Comair is a subsidiary of Delta.

"This did happen today," Laughlin said. "This is what we call, and what the FAA classifies, as a 'proximity event."'

Laughlin said she didn't know how many people were aboard the Delta flight, which came from Shannon, Ireland, but the plane seats 170 passengers.

Dean Iacopelli, a representative for the New York National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the FAA has "terminated that perpendicular simultaneous approach procedure."

Barrett Byrnes, who president of the controllers union at the JFK tower, said controllers have long sought the procedure changes.

"The FAA put out an order to JFK to no longer use that approach. That's exactly what we wanted to happen," Byrnes said. "We've been trying to change that for the last 12, 13 years. It's been an accident waiting to happen."

Friday's incident began when the Delta flight was handed off from the FAA's traffic control center in Westbury, N.Y., to the JFK tower as the plane prepared to land. In the handoff, the Delta pilot apparently wasn't using the communication frequency the flight was assigned to communicate with the JFK tower, Brown said.

The JFK tower and the Delta jet did not establish contact until the flight was 1.5 miles from touching down on the runway, Brown said. The flight was cleared to land by the tower, but the pilot decided to abort the landing, Brown said.

[aerodog]

again?? is this not the 3rd one very recently?? tighten up air traffic controllers.

[anecdote1]

Well I guess a near miss is better than an almost missed.

[yongamerica]

No worries here really, the pilot executing a go around is at a very safe distance from the aircraft taking off on the runway. In cruise airplanes may be less than a half a mile apart traveling in opposite directions.

[hamiltongrad]

NIXON HAD WANTED TO USA TO BUILD SST.. Had we listened we would be alot safer today...

SST - SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT. That would have had us be in near space in huge aircraft that would have decreased the congestion of air traffic, and would have truly propelled us into the future. The anti - Modern Democrats stalled it, and so we are stuck with all these hundreds of small aircraft flying haphazardly there and there like bees. NIXON was a true visionary. Too Bad we did not listen.

[AlwaysSmiling]

Most airline pilots are old fighter jocks. Their idea of "safe" is "any landing you can walk away from".
They have to be restrained. You should see the 747 tests they run off the Oregon coast. You wouldnt believe what that plane can do.
Just instilling you with some confidence, Linfinster. :)

Posted by zeroKnots at 04:01 PM : Jul 12, 2008
=================================================
This reminds me of a quote from a friend of mine. He said, "If you get a pilot who hits the ground hard, he''s a Navy Pilot. That''s who you want. If he takes the entire runway, he''s an Air Force pilot." You want the Navy pilot, because if he can land a jet on an aircraft carrier in high seas, he can fly your jumbo jet without a problem.

Have a great day:)
Patrick.

[tbweb]

Most airline pilots are old fighter jocks. Their idea of "safe" is "any landing you can walk away from".
They have to be restrained. You should see the 747 tests they run off the Oregon coast. You wouldnt believe what that plane can do.
Just instilling you with some confidence, Linfinster. :)

Posted by zeroKnots at 04:01 PM : Jul 12, 2008,,,

Close doesn''t count, there was no collision and no contact! No harm, no foul.

[ciitzenusa]

Whatever. Flying sucks, but is still like 50,000 times safer than driving. Quit whining.

[husein_pasha]

Only one inaccurate movement- and the two planes become minced meat

[erasmus81]

There are near misses EVERYDAY, we just don''t hear about them.

With the pilots having their little "micro" sleeps, and for how overworked the air traffic controllers are, it is a wonder that there are not more accidents.

[erasmus81]

"feddupp here''''s your answer: okay, take two plances and move them 1/2 mile apart. Now leave one on the ground and lift the other one 200 feet ... can you see it now? ..." Posted by mbievtea at 11:47 PM : Jul 11, 2008

Hahaha.

[cbsblogger]

How is it that our food supply, water supply, roads & bridges, energy supply, electoral system, healthcare system, education system and economy... not to count air traffic safety, are all going to hell in a handbasket all at once?

Who is in charge of this disaster?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by sincityq at 10:39 AM : Jul 12, 2008


Well stated. That is the question that every American should consider when voting in 2008. Someone or some party needs held accountable.

[wogerwabbit]

The golden rule of air traffic control is "just don''t scratch the paint".

[godofredo29]

Planes nearly collide all the time over the area of Rootstown, Ohio. There''s three airports competing for that airspace.

[linfinster]

Grrreeeaaaat! I''m flying back home and have a layover at JFK a week from tomorrow ... from San Fransisco ... hope I make it home.

[slim1h2o]

I bet it''''s bin Laden again - he''''s messing with more planes!

Posted by shado269 at 09:22 AM : Jul 12, 2008

If that were the case, he would have flown it up the BB.

Better known as "Bushes But/t"

Or the Whithouse.

[anecdote1]

Posted by princess0501 at 09:34 AM

Try the Fox News forum. Maybe you''ll have better luck.

[anecdote1]

Pilot of plane 1 to Copilot of plane 1:

"Did you see that? That son of a brick cut me off! Roll down your window and flip him off!"

[piercetheval]

...A miss is as good as a mile...or half mile. Yet at the speeds these planes travel how many seconds were between them? That''s the important question.
Air Traffic Controller is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. My hats off to them all.
For a good movie on air traffic controllers I suggest "Pushing Tin" with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. It''s a comedy, yet pertinent to the reality of the job.

[slader99]

Its all Bill Clintons fault, as the Republicans would say.

[oneworldusa]

You can view JFK or Newark, among others and see planes come in and go every few seconds.

So, with flights being cut due to the economy, why are there suddenly these near misses, or, as George Carlin would say, "It''s a near HIT!"? Did they make cuts at the flight towers too?