Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Alaska Air 737, cargo plane have 'near miss' over Fire Island

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet and a smaller cargo plane came within a quarter mile of each other in a "near miss" Tuesday above Fire Island, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency charged with investigating the incident.

Alaska Flight 135, inbound from Portland, Ore., was about to land at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport at 3:08 p.m. Tuesday when the pilot was instructed by Anchorage air traffic controllers to initiate a "go-around" to avoid an outbound Ace Air Cargo Beechcraft 1900 headed to Sand Point, according to NTSB spokesman Clint Johnson.

As the Alaska Airlines jet veered to the right, the Beechcraft also became airborne and veered the same direction, coming within a quarter-mile of the jet at the same elevation above Fire Island, several miles south of the airport runway.

The close proximity of the aircraft was enough for the agency to count the incident as a "near miss." Johnson said the aircraft were so close at least one pilot spotted the other plane.

Johnson said a "go-around" is a standard procedure to give aircraft more separation near the airport.

The Alaska Airlines jet landed without incident. Johnson said the NTSB is just beginning its investigation, headed by a senior air traffic control specialist based in Washington, D.C. The agency will review data from both the Anchorage control tower and the two aircraft involved.

Neither airline immediately responded to requests seeking comment Wednesday.


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