Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"That's about as ugly as it gets. The aircraft didn't need to be where it was."

Source: Mike Foote, Los Angeles representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, regarding a June 13 separation incident over LAX. The Los Angeles Times reports a chartered Piaggio Avanti was instructed to turn left on departure from Hawthorne Municipal, a common vector to avoid the Class B airspace surrounding LAX, located two miles to the northwest. Instead, the Avanti's pilot read back the instruction as a right turn... and the HHR tower controller did not correct the error. The turboprop wound up flying within 1.7 miles of a Skywest regional jet at the same altitude, and within about 1.6 miles of a Northwest 747 flying 400 feet lower.

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