Officials: Air traffic controller error leads to near collision of Midwest flight

Friday, November 16, 2007 10:26 AM CST

AURORA, Ill. (AP) - An air traffic controller's error contributed to two aircraft nearly colliding as they flew at 25,000 feet over Indiana, officials said.

The collision between the flights was avoided when a cockpit safety device in one of the planes alerted pilots, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Officials said the controller directed a Midwest Airlines plane flying east from Milwaukee into the path of a United Express jet heading west out of Greensboro, N.C.

The Tuesday evening incident happened amid a shift change during a busy time at the Chicago Center radar facility in Aurora, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.

The planes came as close as 1.3 miles apart horizontally and 600 feet apart vertically, according to the FAA, which said the incident remains under investigation.

Controllers are fatigued from working with few breaks due to stretched staffing, Bryan Zilonis, a regional vice president with National Air Traffic Controllers Association at Chicago Center, said in an e-mail.

Staffing at the time of the incident was adequate, Cory said.

"The staffing is right where it should be," she said. "This is a controller error."

Were you on this Midwest flight? Contact rgolub@journaltimes.com

Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!