2 jets just miss colliding at LAX

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Friday, October 06, 2006

2 jets just miss colliding at LAX

SkyWest airliner traveling about 115 mph hits brakes and reverses thrusters to avoid crash by only 100 feet. One pilot ignored repeated warnings. Some said it was the closest call they'd ever seen.
By Doug Irving
DAILY BREEZE


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The private jet that blundered onto the runway, a Gulfstream with eight passenger seats , is registered in the United Kingdom. But the pilot "sounded like he was American born," said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, who heard some of his taped conversations with air traffic controllers. On Saturday, the Gulfstream was taxiing to its takeoff runway around 6 p.m., following a path that would take it across an active runway. Controllers told its pilot to stop and wait for clearance before crossing the runway; they repeated those instructions when the pilot missed a turn and had to double back.

Both times, the pilot repeated their instructions correctly, Gregor said -- including the part about not crossing the active runway. And then, with no warning to the controllers, the small plane pulled onto the runway and directly into the path of the SkyWest jet.

SkyWest Flight 6340, a Canadair regional jet with seats for 66 passengers that was about half full at the time, was bound for San Antonio, Texas. It had already begun accelerating for takeoff and was moving at an estimated 100 knots, or about 115 mph, when the smaller jet crossed its path. The SkyWest pilot slammed on the brakes and activated the jet's reverse thrusters. The FAA estimated he managed to stop his jet 100 feet from the smaller plane -- about a third the length of a football field, a distance it would have covered in moments.


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It's unclear what sanctions, if any, the pilot of the private jet could face. He might get only a warning, even if he was at fault, but only if he agrees to cooperate with the FAA and undergo additional training, Gregor said.

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Find this article at:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/4327587.html