One Injured When Planes Impact At Taxiway Intersection
An air freight company is blaming controllers at Milwaukee's
General Mitchell International Airport for a Wednesday night ground
collision involving two of its aircraft.
Robert Sevier, GM of regional hauler Freight Runners Express,
says "a blind spot" prevented the pilots of a company Cessna 402
(shown above) and Beech 99 (center) from seeing each other as both
planes were directed by ground control to the intersection of three
taxiways. The planes caught fire; one pilot was slightly injured,
according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Conditions at the airport were described as clear by FAA
spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory -- meaning controllers were likely
keeping an eye on ground traffic visually, instead of relying on a
$14.5 million ground radar system to watch traffic.
Not that the system would have done any good, Cory added -- as
that system only monitors runways for incursions, not taxiways.
FAA records state the accident occurred Wednesday night before 8
pm. Freight Runners flight 1539, a Cessna 402 inbound from Baraboo,
WI, landed on the smaller of MKE's two east-west runways, 7L/25R.
The company says pilot James Kremsreiter was directed around the
terminal.
About the same time, Freight Runners flight 1509 landed on the
main east-west runway, arriving from Stephens Point. Pilot Charley
Stephenson turned off the runway; shortly thereafter, the Beech 99
collided with the smaller Cessna at the intersection of three
taxiways.
"Both aircraft were operating in controlled areas under explicit
instructions of air traffic control," a Freight Runners statement
said. "One aircraft was given instructions by (the tower) to exit a
high-speed taxiway, and the other aircraft was issued unrestricted
clearance by (ground control) to move on an adjoining taxiway.
"The aircraft collided where the taxiways intersected. Neither
pilot was notified by (air traffic control) of the impending
conflict at the intersection, which would have prevented this
accident."
The FAA is currently investigating the incident -- the second in
a week at the Wisconsin airport. As Aero-News reported Monday, a
Northwest DC-9 ran off the end of a runway at the airport following
an aborted takeoff last Sunday.
The NTSB has not formally decided to launch its own
investigation into the incident.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#:
7886Q Make/Model:
C402 Description: 401, 402,
Utililiner, Businessliner
Date: 01/25/2007 Time: 0200
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
None Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: MILWAUKEE State: WI Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
N7886Q, A FREIGHT RUNNERS EXPRESS FRG1539 CESSNA C402, WHILE
TAXIING
COLLIDED IN THE TAXIWAY INTERSECTION WITH ANOTHER ACFT,
N699CZ, A FREIGHT
RUNNERS EXPRESS FRG1509, A BEECH BE99A, THERE WAS ONE PERSON
ON BOARD EACH
ACFT, MINOR INJURIES REPORTED TO ONE PERSON ON N699CZ,
DAMAGE TO BOTH ARCFT
REPORTED AS SUBSTANTIAL, MILWAUKEE, WI
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: MKE METAR 0152Z 29007KT 7SM OVC031 M04/M09 A3010
OTHER DATA
Activity: Business Phase:
Taxi Operation: OTHER
Departed:
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination: MILWAUKEE,
WI
Flt Plan: IFR
Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: MILWAUKEE, WI
(GL13)
Entry date: 01/25/2007
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (10.06.24): Approach Speed
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