By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – A Southwest Airlines flight was less than 200 feet behind a business jet when the Southwest pilot aborted the landing and made an emergency maneuver to narrowly avoid a collision at Chicago Midway Airport on February 25, U.S. safety officials said on Tuesday.
A FlexJet Challenger business jet entered the runway without authorization, prompting the Southwest Boeing 737-800 to circle and re-approach the landing, a maneuver called a go-around.
The Southwest first officer saw the business jet and realized it was not stopping, called for a go-around and the captain executed it, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report.
The FlexJet crew said the instructions from controllers did not make sense and said after they sought clarification they were given a new taxi route. The flight crew initially read back the instructions incorrectly but the ground controller immediately reissued the instructions and received a correct readback.
The FlexJet flight crew said the sun was impeding visibility from the right side of the aircraft and crew members did not recall seeing any hold short line or pavement markings. The crew said it did not observe the Southwest jet on final approach.
A controller instructed the FlexJet to hold short as it approached, but the transmission was not acknowledged, the NTSB said.
This month, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was taking steps to address safety issues involving general aviation and business jets.
After the Chicago incident, the FAA said it was initiating a safety-risk analysis of close encounters between pilots flying visually and pilots flying under air traffic control. The FAA said it had met with general and business aviation groups.
Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents has raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control operations. Several incidents have involved close calls with small planes.
The FAA said it would take a series of steps to remind pilots to check notices for situations they can encounter during flight, be familiar with their destination airport, avoid complacency by paying attention to pre-flight checklists and pay close attention to onboard collision warnings.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)
