FAA Investigates Another Close Call At O`Hare

Federal officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating a third close call in less than a week involving planes at O`Hare International Airport. The latest incident involved two commercial planes preparing to take off on crisscrossing runways Sunday. Previously, on March 21, two planes were mistakenly instructed to take off at the same time on crisscrossing runways.

Two days later, a plane was sent to taxi across a runway where another plane had already started its take-off roll. Before last week, there had been four reported runway incursions at O`Hare in 2006, all ruled controller errors.

There have been numerous incidents around the world where planes sharing the same runway have collided, often resulting in hundreds of deaths. Air traffic controllers have sometimes been held accountable, though poor visibility has the ability to hamper their own work...however, critics note that when weather is dangerous, such times call for increased vigilance in ensuring passenger safety and clear runways.

                                 

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