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Two planes at Newark airport narrowly avoided crash, report says Two planes at Newark airport narrowly avoided crash, report says
(about 1 hour later)
Two passenger planes narrowly avoided a mid-air collision at Newark Liberty airport in New Jersey last month, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.Two passenger planes narrowly avoided a mid-air collision at Newark Liberty airport in New Jersey last month, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The two planes came within 400 vertical feet and 200 lateral feet of each other at 3pm on April 24, when United Airlines flight 1243, a Boeing 737 arriving from San Francisco, passed over United Express flight 4100 operated by ExpressJet, an Embraer ERJ-145 plane departing to Memphis, Tennessee. The flight numbers and passenger data not included in the NTSB report but have been cited by CNN. The two planes came within 400ft vertically and 150ft laterally of each other at 3pm on April 24, when United Airlines flight 1243, a Boeing 737 arriving from San Francisco, passed over United Express flight 4100 operated by ExpressJet, an Embraer ERJ-145 plane departing to Memphis, Tennessee. The flight numbers and passenger data not included in the NTSB report but have been cited by CNN.
Neither plane was damaged during the incident.Neither plane was damaged during the incident.
When the flight to Memphis began its rolling takeoff on runway 4R, the San Francisco flight was within 1 mile of landing on intersecting runway 29. The report shows that when the Memphis flight was cleared for takeoff, the incoming Boeing 737 was three miles away. But when the Embraer began its takeoff, the San Francisco flight was only a mile from landing on intersecting runway 29.
It was then that Newark air traffic controllers noticed the planes were too close, and warned the pilots. Controllers instructed the 737 from San Francisco to "go around" the smaller ERJ 145 plane to Memphis, according to the report. Realising that the planes were too close, the air traffic controller warned the pilots, instructing the 737 from San Francisco to "go around" – that is, to abort its landing – and for the Embraer to maintain visual contact with it.
A pilot of the flight to Memphis told air traffic controllers he was going to, "keep the aircraft's nose down," according to the report, and the Boeing 737 passed over the EJR 145 at the intersection of runways 29 and 4R, the report says. A pilot of the flight to Memphis told air traffic controllers he was going to "keep the aircraft's nose down" as he took off, according to the report. The Boeing 737 passed over the EJR 145 at the intersection of runways 29 and 4R, the report says.
The Boeing 737 from San Francisco was carrying 155 passengers and six crew members. The ERJ-145 to Memphis was carrying 47 passengers and three crew members.The Boeing 737 from San Francisco was carrying 155 passengers and six crew members. The ERJ-145 to Memphis was carrying 47 passengers and three crew members.
The report is preliminary. A final report with conclusions about the cause of the incident is expected in the coming months.The report is preliminary. A final report with conclusions about the cause of the incident is expected in the coming months.