tom911
Jun 12, 03, 8:39 am
NEWARK, N.J. -- An air traffic controller mistakenly allowed a Federal Express cargo jet to take off last month from a darkened, closed runway at Newark Liberty International Airport, a decision that brought the plane near maintenance workers on the ground.
In a report made public Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration, investigators found that the unidentified controller shifted positions in the tower on May 10 without bringing along "memory aides" _ 6-by-6-inch red placards that contain updated information about the runways _ that would have reminded him that runway 4 Left was closed.
The jet, an Airbus 310, came within 3,000 feet of a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey crew working with equipment adjacent to the runway around 4:35 a.m. No one was hurt, and FAA Spokesman Jim Peters said investigators were still trying to determine whether the plane's crew also erred.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--wrongrunway0612jun12,0,7772551.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
In a report made public Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration, investigators found that the unidentified controller shifted positions in the tower on May 10 without bringing along "memory aides" _ 6-by-6-inch red placards that contain updated information about the runways _ that would have reminded him that runway 4 Left was closed.
The jet, an Airbus 310, came within 3,000 feet of a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey crew working with equipment adjacent to the runway around 4:35 a.m. No one was hurt, and FAA Spokesman Jim Peters said investigators were still trying to determine whether the plane's crew also erred.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--wrongrunway0612jun12,0,7772551.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire