Airliner, small plane nearly collide in NC

WASHINGTON — Federal safety officials said a regional airliner and a smaller plane came within 10 feet of colliding on an airport runway in Charlotte, N.C.

The incident occurred Friday at 10:17 a.m. EDT at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, but wasn’t disclosed by the National Transportation Safety Board until Tuesday.

The PSA Airlines jet with 43 passengers and three crew members was rolling down the runway for takeoff when a warning system alerted air controllers that a smaller turboprop plane was on the same runway about a quarter of the way down the runway, the board said.

The smaller plane — a Pilatus PC-12 that typically seats six to 10 people — had been cleared by controllers to taxi over to the runway and told to hold there for clearance for takeoff, the board said.

After the collision warning went off, controllers told the pilots of the airliner, a CRJ-200, to abort the takeoff, the board said. At about the same time, the pilot of the smaller became aware that the airliner was coming toward it and pulled the plane to the side of the runway, the board said.

The airliner came to a stop within 10 feet of the smaller plane. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said the board doesn’t know how fast the airliner was moving when the takeoff was aborted. Airliners typically reach speeds of well over 100 miles per hour by the time their wheels lift off the runway.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said the incident — called a “runway incursion” because there were two planes on the same runway — appears to be the most serious incursion since at least Oct. 1, the beginning of the current federal budget year. FAA records safety incidents on a year-to-year basis, starting Oct. 1.

After an increase in serious runway incursions two years ago, the FAA brought aviation industry officials together to focus on efforts to improve runway safety, Brown said in a statement.

“Improved pilot training, better airport markings and the expansion of runway safety technology have dramatically reduced serious runway incursions, but we will continue to work to prevent incidents like this one,” Brown said.

Knudson said the board doesn’t know who owns the smaller plane involved in the incursion or how many people were on board. The board is investigating the incident.