Pilots Avoid Collision After System Sounds

When air traffic controllers miss the potential for a near-collision at 25,000 feet, it's reassuring to have another set of "eyes" in the cockpit... as the pilots of a Midwest Airlines aircraft and a United Express regional jet found out Tuesday night.

According to The Associated Press, both jets came within seconds of colliding with each other at the same altitude over Fort Wayne, IN.

The incident occurred "on the tail end of a rush" amid a shift change at the Chicago Center radar facility, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory told The Chicago Tribune. 

The controller -- with 26 years on the job -- directed the Midwest regional jet to descend into the path of the approaching United Express plane just before the changeover.

Fortunately, the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) onboard the Midwest Airlines plane sounded, and the pilots executed an emergency climb to avoid the United plane. The aircraft apparently came as close as 1.3 miles from each other horizontally and 600 feet vertically, the FAA said -- a lot closer than regulations permit.

"The controller at first did identify the potential conflict and took action" to stop the descent of the Midwest plane, Cory said. "However, it's still to be determined why, within less than a minute, he then dropped the data block [from his radar screen] and continued the descent."

The Midwest Airlines jet was heading east from Milwaukee, bound for Dayton, OH ; the United Express plane was on a westerly heading out of Greensboro, SC.

Pilots of both aircraft commented three times how close the planes came to each other, according to the tape recording of conversations between the two aircraft and Chicago ARTCC. "Center, you really lined us up on that last clearance," NATCA facility president Jeffrey Richards quoted one of the pilots as saying.

The FAA is investigating the incident.

FMI: www.faa.gov