Commercial Flights Get Too Close

For the second time in as many days last week, a major incident was narrowly averted in the skies near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport when two commercial aircraft approaching parallel runways violated the three-mile separation mandated by ATC.

The FAA says it happened at approximately 10:30 pm CST Wednesday when an Air France 747 veered out of its lane, toward an American Airlines MD-80. The two aircraft were reportedly 12 miles from the airport. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro says the vertical separation between the aircraft was 500 feet. An FAA official said the Air France plane suddenly veered toward the American MD-80, busting horizontal separation minimums. The Air France pilot corrected and both aircraft continued on to safe landings.

The Chicago Tribune quotes Molinaro as saying the FAA is investigating the incident "to see if it was preventable." High winds may have been a factor, he said.

Last Tuesday, a Mexicana flight and a United Airlines aircraft came within a mile of each other on a converging course as they approached O'Hare. The United pilot evaded, avoiding what the Tribune reports would have been a head-on midair collision.

That incident is also under investigation as the FAA tries to determine if pilot error was involved.

FMI: www.faa.gov