Posted on 12/14/2023 10:23:23 AM PST by george76
A JetBlue Airbus A320 struck its tail on the runaway as it accelerated to avoid a collision with a Beechcraft King Air 350..
The JetBlue plane was taking off from the same runway at Yampa Valley Regional Airport that the King Air plane was about to land on..
Aircraft near-misses are on the rise in the US, amid a severe air traffic controller staffing shortage
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Investigators said a JetBlue plane's tail struck the runway at a Colorado airport when a captain took-off quickly to avoid a head-on crash, as airport near-misses surge due to air traffic controller shortages.
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The NTSB said the JetBlue captain accelerated pointed the nose of his jet up quicker than normal 'due to his surprise about encountering head on landing traffic.'
The King Air crew was startled when the JetBlue plane announced that it was beginning to taxi on to the runway and said 'I hope you don't hit us' to the JetBlue pilots.
The JetBlue captain and co-pilot.. said they never saw the other plane.
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This near-miss is the latest in a slew of growing almost collisions at airports across the country.
In July, there were 46 'close calls' between commercial airlines, according to reports shared by the Federal Aviation Authority.
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Aircraft near-misses are on the rise in the US, amid a severe air traffic controller staffing shortage that controllers say is pushing them to the brink physically and mentally.
In the fiscal year through September 30, 'significant' air traffic control lapses jumped 65 percent from the prior year, to 503 incidents
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The only near miss in this story is between the tail of the plane and the runway. Nearly missed it but didn't.
Near collision or near hit should be the term they use for almost colliding.
This is the saddest midair collision story I have ever heard;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLWxy-SQ6hY
Saw air crash stories that were of another video line, but the Mayday ones are the best made. What is with Russia losing plenty of children in air crashes? One had the pilots falling asleep and killing 200 people, 53 were children.
Forgot to post that for cable cutting night owls, the “Quest” network had the show “Mayday” on between 2-4 AM ET.
Hope all who are traveling stay safe and may your flight’s TCAS work.
All of these “incidents” people involved luck will run out at nearly the same time.
Isn’t it odd that the landing and takeoff were in opposite directions (i.e. head on)?
The airport does not have a control tower.
Great thread. Freepers know everything about weapons and aviation.
Great story and no deaths or destruction. When you are close to the ground there is not much time or altitude to rectify error says captain obvious.
Over Laos there was a bit less air traffic because our mission was only at night. situational awareness was based on burning sea dye markers on the ground, so you had to be good with awareness in the dark of night and no lights for guidance other than the burning markers usually numbering three.
That is one reason why we were reluctant to do bomb damage assessment on an arclight strike. Too close could ruin your day. We’d be a few miles away and you could hear the bombs going off.
Even worse than mid-air collisions would be giving up our diversity /s
Those AA hires...
If the Jet Blue was taking off correctly on runway 28, then the beechcraft was landing downwind which is a shakey procedure. Or the Jet Blue was trying to take off down wind. I’ve seen them do it at other airports to save time.
John Cox, a former airline pilot and current safety consultant, said he wondered why JetBlue pilots started moving without knowing how far the Beechcraft was from them and why the second plane didn’t move when they knew the JetBlue flight was taking off.
The Beechcraft pilots “didn’t do anything egregiously wrong up to the point that they knew they had an A320 coming face-to-face with them and they didn’t abort the landing and get out of its way,” Cox told the AP.
My problem is that it is the responsibility of the departing aircraft to visually clear the airspace prior to rolling and the JB pilots knew the Beechcraft was out there and on approach. Of course Mr. Cox, as a current safety consultant for the airlines, would wonder why the beechcraft didn’t abort his landing, but the main responsibility for not having a collision falls to the departing aircraft. And head on means someone was not taking off or landing upwind. But Cox’s statement about the Beechcraft not doing anything wrong except clearing the airspace for the JB aircraft tells me the JB was taking off the wrong direction in an uncontrolled airport. Nearest radar is in Denver, about 25 miles. There are 5 major carriers come in there with 3 minors schduled almost daily. Their alternative for weather is Denver.
wy69
If the Jet Blue was taking off correctly on runway 28, then the beechcraft was landing downwind which is a shakey procedure. Or the Jet Blue was trying to take off down wind. I’ve seen them do it at other airports to save time.
John Cox, a former airline pilot and current safety consultant, said he wondered why JetBlue pilots started moving without knowing how far the Beechcraft was from them and why the second plane didn’t move when they knew the JetBlue flight was taking off.
The Beechcraft pilots “didn’t do anything egregiously wrong up to the point that they knew they had an A320 coming face-to-face with them and they didn’t abort the landing and get out of its way,” Cox told the AP.
My problem is that it is the responsibility of the departing aircraft to visually clear the airspace prior to rolling and the JB pilots knew the Beechcraft was out there and on approach. Of course Mr. Cox, as a current safety consultant for the airlines, would wonder why the beechcraft didn’t abort his landing, but the main responsibility for not having a collision falls to the departing aircraft. And head on means someone was not taking off or landing upwind. But Cox’s statement about the Beechcraft not doing anything wrong except clearing the airspace for the JB aircraft tells me the JB was taking off the wrong direction in an uncontrolled airport. Nearest radar is in Denver, about 25 miles. There are 5 major carriers come in there with 3 minors schduled almost daily. Their alternative for weather is Denver.
wy69
“I haven’t flown in about 20 years and have no plans to.”
Do you drive? It’s more dangerous.
wy69
Perhaps, but I’m not sitting there hoping some air traffic controller didn’t screw up. Also, the survival rate for road accidents is quite a bit higher than for airplane crashes.
If you don’t fly, the terrorists have already won.
No, if I don’t fly, I don’t fly, that’s all. The extremely remote possibility of terrorism doesn’t affect my own preference in the slightest.
Just wait until one of the terrorists uses a box cutter to get into the cockpit of your car and crash it into a major iconic building.
You’ll wish you flew THEN!
If that ever happens, my last thought is sure to be, “I should have listened to Laz!”
“A JetBlue Airbus A320 struck its tail on the runaway as it accelerated to avoid a collision with a Beechcraft King Air 350..”
I bet that wasn’t the only thing/person making skid marks right about then.
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