NTSB probes close call at O’Hare
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are talking to pilots, air traffic controllers and reviewing data involved in a near-miss at O’Hare International Airport Monday morning.
Two regional jets came within 225 vertical feet of each other as a SkyWest flight from Michigan was preparing to land on Runway 9 Right and an ExpressJet Airlines flight was departing for Buffalo on Runway 32 Left.
The incident occurred around 9:35 a.m. on a busy day at O’Hare with Vice President Joe Biden’s plane arriving shortly before.
Airplanes descending on 9 Right cross Runway 32 Left at low altitudes before touching down.
A supervisor at the O’Hare control tower noticed that the SkyWest flight was about to overfly the ExpressJet airplane and instructed the air traffic controller to tell the SkyWest aircraft to go around the airport. The jets came less than 480 feet of each other laterally.
No injuries or damage occurred. The NTSB announced it would take over the investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday.