NTSB investigates near midair collision near NY (C-17s & 777)

[unhappycamper]

NTSB investigates near midair collision near NY
By JOAN LOWY -
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal safety officials said Friday they are investigating the near collision of an American Airlines jet and two military transport planes last month about 80 miles southeast of New York City, the latest in a string of close calls over the past year.

American Airlines flight 951 was en route to Sao Paulo, Brazil, about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 20 when a warning system alerted pilots to an impending collision with the two U.S. Air Force C-17s, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

The airline pilot, responding to the collision warning, took evasive action, the board said. Alarms also went off at the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic control center near Islip, Long Island, and showed up on controllers' radar screens. The controllers ordered the planes to change course, the board said.

"The US Air Force is committed to safe flight operations and mishap prevention," said Todd Vician, an Air Force spokesman. "We are cooperating with the NTSB in its investigation."

The planes were flying at an altitude of about 22,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean, board spokeswoman Bridget Serchak said. The C-17s, flying in formation, appeared as a single blip on air traffic control radar screens, she said.

[panzerfaust]

1. Two good things about this.

1) The collision did not happen (apparently thanks to TCAS & the AA pilots)
2) General Aviation ("those small airplanes") was not involved.

Scary though, as clearly everyone was on an instrument flight plan and being followed by ATC. Bit bizarre that comment about "a single blip" truly do not see how that could possibly be a factor.

Had it not been for the American Airlines pilots, all three craft would have been a single "blip."


C-17. I recall the first time I saw one of these monsters in the air
Still, the triple-7 is even bigger (I remember the first of those too - when it was going flight testing at Paine)

[unhappycamper]

2. That's $2.6+ billion dollars 'worth' of C-17s. n/t