Near-collision on O'Hare runway
By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune transportation reporter
Published July 24, 2006, 3:08 PM CDT
A United Airlines passenger jet departing O'Hare International Airport on Sunday night lifted off over the top of a Boeing 747 cargo plane that moments earlier landed on a crossing runway, and the two aircraft missed colliding by about 300 feet, the Federal Aviation Administration said today.
The FAA blamed controller error for the runway incursion — the fifth incident this year at O'Hare involving planes occupying the same runway or in violation of separation standards.
Sunday's incident occurred about 10 p.m. when United flight 1015, a Boeing 737 bound for Denver, was cleared by the O'Hare air-traffic control tower for takeoff from runway 27 Left, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.
A 747 freighter operated by Atlas Air was rolling out after landing on runway 14 Right and it crossed the intersection with runway 27 Left where the United plane was taking off, Molinaro said.
It was not clear whether the United pilot lifted off early to avoid hitting the Atlas Air cargo plane, but the FAA said the two planes came within 300 feet of each other.
The National Transportation Safety Board will send investigators to O'Hare on Tuesday to interview the pilots and examine the flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders aboard both aircraft, said safety board spokesman Keith Holloway.