NTSB: FedEx plane was only 150 feet off ground when disaster was averted
By Chris Isidore, CNN
A FedEx plane was only about 150 feet off the ground when its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway, and aborted its landing to avoid a potentially catastrophic fatal accident last month, federal safety investigators reported Thursday.
The report was from the National Transportation Safety Board, which looks into crashes and near crashes in the transportation industry. As is typical of a preliminary report such as this, the report did not assess any fault for the near miss.
The incident occurred early on February 4 at the international airport in Austin, Texas. CNN has previously reported the two planes came within 100 feet of one another, based on data from FlightRadar24. The NTSB’s initial findings confirmed earlier reports that it was the FedEx pilot, not air traffic controllers, who detected the problem and told the Southwest plane to abort its takeoff.
NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy previously told CNN she believes the two planes came within 100 feet or less. Thursday’s report said the NTSB is still analyzing data from the cockpit recorders and other information and has not determined their closest proximity.
“That is really close, far too close,” Homendy told CNN’s Pete Muntean in an interview ahead of Thursday’s report. “It’s a big concern for us.”
The report said the Southwest plane was racing down the runway, picking up speed to take off, when the FedEx pilot warning came. The Southwest plane did take off, and veered sharply to the right as it became airborne. The FedEx plane veered to the left as it aborted its landing to avoid a possible collision.
The NTSB said it is still analyzing flight data and other information and has not determined the closest proximity between the planes.
There were 128 passengers and crew aboard the Southwest flight, and three crew members aboard the FedEx flight.
This is one of five near misses involving US commercial passenger aircraft in the last few months. There were no reports of injuries in any of the incidents.
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