Dec 12, 2007 12:48 am US/Eastern
FAA: Jets Never In Danger At JFK Airport
NEW YORK (AP) ―
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that two jets
landing on nearby runways at Kennedy Airport were never in danger,
contradicting assertions by the air traffic controllers' union and a
lawmaker that the planes almost hit each other.
A 37-seat American Eagle commuter jet and a Boeing 747 EVA Air cargo
jet were cleared to land Sunday afternoon on runways that are
perpendicular but don't intersect, said a spokesman for the National
Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The commuter jet's pilot decided not to land, fearing the effects of turbulence from the 747, the union spokesman said.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer on Monday said the two jets nearly
collided, and he demanded the FAA immediately install the most advanced
anti-collision technology at the region's three major airports —
Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty.
But FAA spokesman Jim Peters said Tuesday that after reviewing radar
data from Kennedy, the agency concluded the two jets were never in any
danger.
"It was a nonevent," Peters said. "There was no danger under the conditions that took place Sunday."
However, Doug Church, the controllers' association president, said
allowing two airplanes to land simultaneously on perpendicular runways
was an "unnecessary risk." The controller handling the landing of the
planes said it was the closest he had ever seen two airplanes come
together, according to Church and Schumer.
"That air had been severely disturbed" by the 747, Church said. "The
(commuter jet) could have crashed if it had flown through the wake
turbulence of the 747."
Peters said there were no potential turbulence-related problems for
planes landing on perpendicular runways. The FAA planned to speak with
the controller, he said.
Schumer, D-N.Y., didn't return a message Tuesday seeking comment on
the FAA's findings. He has been pressuring the FAA to speed up the
installation of the latest anti-collision technology at local airports
since a plane taxied onto a runway where a plane was about to land at
Newark last week. The FAA was investigating.
Schumer's comments also come on the heels of last week's
congressional report that said there was "a high risk of a catastrophic
runway collision occurring" in the country because of poor leadership,
unreliable technology and overworked air traffic controllers. It said
near-collisions at New York area airports increased from six in 2003 to
13 in 2006.
Kennedy was to receive the anti-collision system in August 2008,
Newark in July 2009 and LaGuardia in December 2010. The technology
alerts air traffic controllers to potential collisions within 5 miles
of an airport, including on runways.
Schumer was to meet with the FAA's acting administrator to demand the system be installed immediately at the three airports.
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