Posted on 11/10/2004 1:42:17 PM PST by Michael Goldsberry
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A South Korean Boeing 747 carrying hundreds of passengers came within 12 second of hitting another jet at Los Angeles airport after a ground traffic control mix-up, a report showed.
The Asiana Airlines jumbo jet was coming in to land at Los Angeles International Airport on August 19 when the pilot realized that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was on the runway on which he was about to touch down.
The Asiana pilot aborted the landing and averted an aviation catastrophe when the planes were just 12 seconds and about 145 feet (43.5 meters) apart, a draft report from the National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites) showed.
"That was close ... close," one of the pilots said, according to a recorded radio exchange presented at a hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
Nearly 300 people were aboard the two jets in the latest report of a near collision at the heavily-congested LAX, the world's fifth busiest air hub, that was blamed on a controller who mistakenly cleared the Southwest plane for take-off as the jumbo was about to land.
The dramatic incident highlights the failure of aviation regulators to keep track of dangerous runway incidents, federal investigators said at a hearing in Washington on Tuesday, according to reports.
A tower warning system activated, indicating a collision was imminent, but the controller's response was delayed, according to US government investigators.
The incident was reported to the NTSB (news - web sites) by the airline crew, not be the Federal Aviation Authority, potentially underscoring reporting problems.
Holy Kim Chee.
Yikes!
That can't be correct, most people can run that fast.
this why i hate flying.....
scary! thank God tragedy was averted.
Farts, too.
Several years ago the plane I was on was coming in for a landing. The runway under us. Suddenly we were up, probably a couple hundred feet. It was fast. I didn't know we were up until we were. A little scary at first but awesome after we finally landed. 12 seconds is a long time when it comes to jets.
I was returning from Germany once and we virtually made a touch and go landing. Another plane had moved in the runway.
And then, not long after, it avoided a crash landing by only 5 feet! No kidding.
LAX gives me the willies.
So the aircraft were traveling at what, 4-5 mph?
Yes. The observer was travelling very near the speed of light.
LOL. I love physics!!!!
"The Asiana pilot aborted the landing and averted an aviation catastrophe when the planes were just 12 seconds and about 145 feet (43.5 meters) apart..."
That would mean the plane was travelling at 8mph.
Funny, I can't find this story anywhere else. Yahoo is the only one to carry it?
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