Two more flight errors
Aviation officials in the Chicago area reported two more errors in which airplanes flew too close to each other, but the Federal Aviation Administration said the planes were never in danger of colliding.
On Thursday, two air traffic controllers at the FAA's Chicago Center radar facility in Aurora directed an American Airlines MD-80 jet traveling east from O'Hare International Airport to descend from 29,600 feet to 29,000 feet. However, the pilot did not follow the instructions, according a statement from FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.
"The controller did not realize that the pilot was not following the instruction," according to the statement.
A regional jet traveling northwest to Milwaukee at 30,000 feet came within 4.16 miles -- the FAA recommends five miles -- of the MD-80 near Goshen, Ind., but the planes already had passed each other when they reached the close distance, Molinaro said.
In another incident, also reported Friday, two Boeing 757s, one operated by American Airlines and another operated by United Airlines, were 2.8 miles apart as they prepared to land one after the other Thursday at O'Hare as directed by controllers at FAA's Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Elgin. The standard distance is generally four miles, according to David Stock, president of approach control.
Molinaro called it a "Level C" error, which is the least severe.
The FAA has reported two other similar incidents this month where planes flew too close to each other but were not in danger of colliding.
On Dec. 19, a Boeing 737 jet came within 3.6 miles horizontally of a Beechcraft Super King Air 200 about 20 miles from Springfield. On Dec. 16, a United Express jet headed to Lexington, Ky., from O'Hare International Airport and a C-130 military plane got within 3.17 miles of each other near Kankakee.
The Elgin facility has reported 56 controller errors this year; the Aurora center has reported 37 controller errors.
Officials said there isn't a single issue at stake.
"It's a cumulative thing of airplanes, airspace, not enough people ... way too many new people, overtime and cumulative fatigue," Stock said.
Controllers in the Chicago region have long said they are tired and more error-prone after having to work repeated six-day weeks because of staffing level changes.
But the FAA maintains that staffing levels are adequate despite controllers' complaints.