Posted on 12/20/2016 5:35:59 PM PST by BenLurkin
he EVA Airways Boeing 777 bound for Taipei, Taiwan, flew north instead of south after departing from LAX early Friday morning, according to the FAA’s Ian Gregor.
“At the time, aircraft were departing from LAX to the east,” Gregor said, adding that the EVA flight departed from the airport’s south runway complex.
The 777’s flight crew switched from the LAX control tower to the approach control in San Diego right after takeoff, Gregor said.
“The air-traffic controller at the approach control who was handling EVA instructed the pilot to make a left turn to a 180-degree heading,” Gregor said.
“She meant to tell the pilot to make a right turn to a 180-degree heading. The pilot turned to the left. The controller quickly realized EVA was turning in the wrong direction. She took immediate action to keep EVA safely separated from an Air Canada jet that had departed LAX off the north runway complex.”
“The controller then turned her attention to getting EVA to turn south,” Gregor said.
The plane turned low over an Altadena neighborhood, startling a homeowner who said it tossed her from her bed.
“The controller issued the EVA pilot a series of instructions to get him to turn south. The controller wanted to make sure the EVA aircraft was safely above or away from nearby terrain.”
The plane was heading dangerously close to the San Gabriel Mountains and was far below the summit of Mount Wilson at 5,700 feet. With moments to spare, pilot changed course and headed back toward the ocean.
(Excerpt) Read more at losangeles.cbslocal.com ...
A heading of 180 deg is due south, an absolute heading, not relative to the previous direction
Yeah she put a USAir 737 right on top of a SkyWest commuter. EMB-120, Maybe?
Sounds like the accident. Feel bad for the woman, she always sounded stressed out and bitchy.
Since a left turn to 180 from a runway heading of 90 required a 270 degree left turn, rather than a 90 degree right turn, Pilot Not Flying (the one on the radio) should have transmitted:
“SOCAL (Southern California) Departure, confirm a left, I say again, a left turn to 180.”
That would have gotten some heads out of rectal defilade.
Lol!
Love the tagline.
From the voice, the controller sounded like an Affirmative Action hire. Hopefully this crap will end with Trump.
Most likely as a result of this ( from the article ):
...the FAA has decided to accept less qualified applicants, apparently to satisfy concerns that the agency needs a more diverse workforce.
...But suddenly, earlier this year, thousands of students like Ryan were told they were no longer eligible to proceed with the application process. In February, the FAA ignored the pool of applicants waiting to be interviewed for air traffic control positions who had already graduated from school and passed the AT-SAT exam.
Priority for veterans and CTI graduates was no longer given. Instead, anyone interested in becoming an air traffic controller would be part of the same pool of applicants–a combination of “off the street hires” and those with specialized education or prior experience.
FAA Changes Hiring Practices for Air Traffic Controllers Ignoring Qualified Students and Vets
I used to hear her voice scanning ATC channels, sounded nasty. She was gone after that, of course.
That was the Continental DC-10 wasn't it?
The burnt-out wreckage stayed on the runway for several days as I drove past it to work along Lincoln Blvd./PCH
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