Word: aircrafting
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...close calls in the sky are by far the most worrisome trend in the nation's overburdened, understaffed air-safety system. The chilling reality of what can happen when luck turns sour was illustrated last Aug. 31 over Cerritos, Calif., when an Aeromexico DC-9 and a private Piper aircraft collided in the congested "birdcage" of controlled airspace around Los Angeles International Airport, killing 82 people. Many aviation experts like Duffy fear that what is still one of the safest air-transportation systems in the world is slipping dangerously as air traffic grows relentlessly through the unfettered competition of deregulation...
...flow plan has indeed reduced the number of aircraft stacked in the skies in bad weather around major airports. Instead, the delays are taken in "gate holds" on the ground; planes are not allowed to leave until they have a chance to land promptly at their next stop. This prudent procedure caused more than 70,000 holiday travelers around the nation to be delayed last week when fog closed Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport, a major airline hub. While the air-flow controls may annoy passengers eager to get going on their trips, pilots and controllers prefer...
...Flight 557 approached Chicago's O'Hare on Oct. 31. As it descended from 10,000 ft., a single-engine Cessna suddenly appeared ahead of it and passed just 300 ft. below and a mile to one side. Snapped the startled American pilot: "Center, did you just have an aircraft pass us in the opposite direction?" Controller: "I have an old track I don't see . . . there, target's back up now. I'm sorry about that." Pilot: "Well, that was very, very close...
...increased from 150 to about 400, and ! the roster of passenger carriers grew by 97 (to 157). The FAA offers another explanation for the rising number of near midairs: its reporting system has improved. In 1983 the FAA began installing what controllers and pilots call a "snitch" alarm system. Aircraft now move across a controller's green radar screen as a blip of light in the middle of a round white "halo" or "doughnut," representing an area that has a diameter of five miles. The aim of the controllers is to "keep green" between the doughnuts. Whenever two circles begin...
...Bonanza near Santa Barbara, Calif. The planes had come within five miles, but the snitch was not triggered. The investigators discovered that a controller had dropped the Bonanza from his screen in the belief that there was no real chance of a collision despite the proximity of the two aircraft. This action, reported the FAA, "disabled the computer's ability to recognize the conflict...