Commercial Airliner And Passenger Flight Avoid Potential Collision Near Miami
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) -- A Trinidad commercial airliner and an American Airlines flight from Mexico came close enough that both planes took emergency measures to avoid a potential collision, officials said Monday.
BWIA Flight 431 was 15 miles southwest of Miami International Airport after taking off Saturday afternoon for Barbados when radar controllers told the pilot to maintain an altitude of 7,000 feet, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The BWIA pilot did not acknowledge the transmission and the Boeing 737 kept climbing, Bergen said. American Airlines Flight 2198 was nearby, flying level at 8,000 feet.
The American flight's traffic collision and avoidance system activated and the pilot climbed, and turned away from the BWIA flight, Bergen said from her office in Atlanta, Ga.
The FAA spokeswoman could not say how close the two planes came to each other or whether they would have collided without the pilots' emergency response. Bergen, however, said it is a "fairly uncommon occurrence" for a traffic collision and avoidance system to activate.
Traffic collision and avoidance systems, or TCAS, alerted the pilots of both planes they were getting too close to each other, authorities said. TCAS was developed to help reduce the potential for midair collisions, according to the FAA Web site.
The BWIA pilot followed the alert system's instructions, and the plane dipped sharply away from the American flight like a nosedive, panicking some passengers, airline spokeswoman Dionne Ligoure said.
The FAA investigation could take several weeks, but the preliminary results show that the BWIA didn't follow instructions from controllers, Bergen said.
BWIA said it was investigating the incident and that more than 200 passengers were aboard the plane. It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard the American flight.
American's Internet site shows that Flight 2198 originates in Mexico City and lands in Miami.
Several passengers aboard the BWIA flight later reported that the other plane was so close they could see the American Airlines logo, Ligoure said.
American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., is based in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline could not immediately provide information on the incident.
http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/C74563/
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) -- A Trinidad commercial airliner and an American Airlines flight from Mexico came close enough that both planes took emergency measures to avoid a potential collision, officials said Monday.
BWIA Flight 431 was 15 miles southwest of Miami International Airport after taking off Saturday afternoon for Barbados when radar controllers told the pilot to maintain an altitude of 7,000 feet, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The BWIA pilot did not acknowledge the transmission and the Boeing 737 kept climbing, Bergen said. American Airlines Flight 2198 was nearby, flying level at 8,000 feet.
The American flight's traffic collision and avoidance system activated and the pilot climbed, and turned away from the BWIA flight, Bergen said from her office in Atlanta, Ga.
The FAA spokeswoman could not say how close the two planes came to each other or whether they would have collided without the pilots' emergency response. Bergen, however, said it is a "fairly uncommon occurrence" for a traffic collision and avoidance system to activate.
Traffic collision and avoidance systems, or TCAS, alerted the pilots of both planes they were getting too close to each other, authorities said. TCAS was developed to help reduce the potential for midair collisions, according to the FAA Web site.
The BWIA pilot followed the alert system's instructions, and the plane dipped sharply away from the American flight like a nosedive, panicking some passengers, airline spokeswoman Dionne Ligoure said.
The FAA investigation could take several weeks, but the preliminary results show that the BWIA didn't follow instructions from controllers, Bergen said.
BWIA said it was investigating the incident and that more than 200 passengers were aboard the plane. It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard the American flight.
American's Internet site shows that Flight 2198 originates in Mexico City and lands in Miami.
Several passengers aboard the BWIA flight later reported that the other plane was so close they could see the American Airlines logo, Ligoure said.
American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., is based in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline could not immediately provide information on the incident.
http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/C74563/
