Confusion Over FedEx Flight Numbers Led To Incursion

It's one of the most common areas of potential confusion in the cockpit -- radio transmissions and ATC communications involving two aircraft with similar-sounding tail- or- flight-numbers. Such was case last week at Memphis International Airport, and it led to a close call involving two FedEx aircraft.

The Associated Press reports two FedEx DC-10s -- departing at around the same time from MEM, on parallel runways -- came within 200 feet vertically and 3/4 of a mile horizontally after takeoff February 21, after one of the jets followed instructions intended for the second aircraft.

The flights involved were FedEx 527, and FedEx 257. "The controller didn't recognize the error on read-back," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

The resulting airspace violation has been listed as a Category A incursion, considered the most serious by the FAA. Large aircraft over Memphis are supposed to keep a distance of at least 1,000 feet vertically and three miles horizontally.

"We had a pilot read-back error, which caused us to have an operational error," Bill Wertz, the FAA's tower supervisor at MEM, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "We did our investigation and are providing training for the controller. FedEx has assured us that they are also taking appropriate steps."

As has been the case in past incidents nationwide, the local representative of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association blamed the incident -- and other recent mistakes by controllers at MEM -- on short-staffing, forced overtime, and fatigue.

"Those airplanes were extremely close together and that's just seconds away from the two of them hitting," said Ron Carpenter, NATCA's Facility Representative at Memphis Center.

Bergen disagreed with that assertion. "We have never found fatigue to be an issue in any of the errors that have occurred at Memphis," she said.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.natca.org, www.fedex.com