Denver near collision:
The National Transportation Safety Board is
investigating a runway incursion today at Denver
International Airport involving two airliners.
At 7:28 a.m. MST, Frontier Airlines flight 297, an
Airbus A-319, broke out of low clouds as it was about to
land on runway 35 left. The Frontier flight crew saw a
Swearingen Metroliner, Key Lime Air flight 4216, which had
inadvertently entered the runway. The Frontier flight
immediately executed a missed approach. It is estimated
that the aircraft came within 50 feet of each other.
The Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS)
alerted the control tower personnel of the situation at the
same time the Frontier crew saw the Metroliner on the
runway. Weather at the time of the incident was one-half mile
visibility, ceiling 600 feet overcast, snow and mist.
The Federal Aviation Administration is assisting in
the investigation.