Jul 8, 2008 5:42 am US/Eastern
FAA Downplays Near-Miss At JFK Airport
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman Barrett Byrnes said Cayman Airways Flight 792 executed a routine "go-around" -- pulling up at the last minute instead of landing -- around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Meanwhile, a LAN-Chile Flight was leaving.
AP
Two jets came within a few hundred feet of each this weekend at JFK Airport. It happened while one flight was taking off, and the other was landing, but the FAA is downplaying the incident.
"It's very dangerous," a traveler at JFK Airport said of the incident.
Passengers were concerned after learning the FAA is looking into a claim by air traffic controllers that two planes -- one departing and one landing -- came within about 100 feet of each other.
CBS 2 HD obtained the air traffic recording, as the controller asks one pilot to make a hard left, the other a hard right to avoid a collision.
"Cayman 792, I want you to make a right turn, make a right turn," the air traffic controller said. "Cayman 792, just maintain one thousand please. I need a left turn, a quick left turn, a left turn heading zero nine to zero now, traffic on departure roll."
Cayman Airways Flight 792 Pilot responded, "Zero nine zero now, Roger."
"533, traffic on miss approach off twenty two left turning southbound start your right turn to 170 now," the air traffic controller then told Lan-Chile Flight 533 Pilot.
"To have 100 feet of separation and no lateral separation - its a very dangerous procedure," said Barrett Byrnes, National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman.
Byrnes said Cayman Airways Flight 792 pulled up at the last minute instead of landing -- around 8:30 p.m. Saturday and just missed Chile Flight 533 which denied the report. Passengers have concerns.
"If I was on board I would be scared to death," said traveler Artie Borova. "It shouldn't happen with all the regulations we have in place."
"Hopefully, it won't happen again – lesson learned and we can move on," added Adele Smith.
Before they can learn anything from the incident, they'll have to get to the truth of what exactly happened here.
JFK Airport uses perpendicular runways simultaneously. Air traffic
control contends what happened this weekend is an example of why that
practice should be stopped. The The National Transportation Safety
Board now investigating to determine what happened.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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