Investigators said Thursday that a FedEx cargo plane came within 200 feet of hitting a Southwest Airlines jet. last year in Austin, Texasafter both were allowed to use the same runway.
The FedEx co-pilot saw the Southwest plane at the last second, and the cargo plane crew stopped, flying over the Southwest jet, which was carrying 128 passengers and crew.
“This incident could have been catastrophic if not for the heroic actions of the FedEx crew,” said Jennifer Homendy, president of the National Transportation Safety Board at the beginning of the panel’s hearing on the decision.
The five-member safety board heard descriptions of the incident from investigators and was expected to vote on a probable cause of the incident later Thursday.
The FedEx plane was making its final approach to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when it nearly struck the top of the Southwest Boeing 737 as it roared down the runway for takeoff in thick fog.
The air traffic controller said he expected the Southwest jet – which he couldn’t see through the fog – take off faster. In hindsight, the controller said, he could have made the Southwest crew wait until the FedEx Boeing 767 landed.
The captain of the FedEx plane told investigators he was angry and perplexed when he heard the controller clearing the Southwest jet to take off from the same runway it was approaching.
The incident was one of several incidents last year that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to convene a “safety summit” of aviation industry participants.
FAA officials maintained that U.S. aviation It’s never been so safe. However, a panel of independent experts concluded last year that safety margin is decreasing and the FAA needs better personnel and technology to manage the nation’s airspace.
The NTSB plans to publish its report on the Austin incident within a few weeks.
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