NTSB says an air traffic controller's faulty assumption led to a close call between planes in Texas
Federal investigators say an air traffic’s controller’s faulty assumption nearly caused a runway collision at a Texas airport last year
An air traffic's controller's faulty assumption that a Southwest Airlines jetliner would take off from a Texas airport before a landing FedEx plane reached the runway caused the planes to come within less than 200 feet of colliding in thick fog last year, federal investigators said Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the Southwest pilots contributed to the close call in Austin on Feb. 4, 2023, by not telling the controller they needed time on the runway before beginning their takeoff roll.
The air traffic controller had cleared both planes to use the same runway. A potential disaster was avoided at the last moment, when the FedEx pilots glimpsed the silhouette of the Southwest jet —carrying 128 passengers and crew members— and climbed out of harm’s way.
“This incident could have been catastrophic if not for the heroic actions of the FedEx crew,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during the hearing.
Board member Michael Graham called the incident a failure of aviation safety.
“We had two aircraft within 200 feet of each other, and that should not happen,” Graham said. He noted the lack of airport ground radar or technology to warn pilots of the potential for collision, and said the air traffic controller and Southwest crew showed poor judgment and decision-making.
“If it was not for FedEx crew’s last minute go-around, we might be having a different discussion today,” Graham said.
In a statement of probable cause that it adopted unanimously, the five-member board also faulted the Federal Aviation Administration for not requiring the Austin airport to have technology
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