SAN DIEGO –
The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday blamed a runway incursion at Lindbergh Field last week on a control tower mistake.
FAA safety officials in Washington, D.C., determined that an air traffic controller at Lindbergh erred when he cleared a Southwest Airlines plane for takeoff while a smaller jet remained on the 9,400-foot-long runway.
Agency spokesman Ian Gregor said that when the Southwest plane lifted off, the two aircraft were about 2,500 feet apart – about 500 feet closer than initially reported.
“There was no collision hazard because Southwest took off a half-mile from where the (other plane) was,” Gregor said.
He said the FAA is continuing its review of the Jan. 16 incident, which occurred under clear skies just before 6 p.m.
Earlier this week, Gregor said the agency had looked into the incident and did not consider it a safety breach. He later said FAA officials in Washington were taking a deeper look.
Representatives of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the controllers union, said they believe the FAA initially tried to cover up the incident. Melvin Davis, a San Diego-area chapter president of the controllers union, said the incident should have raised a red flag with the FAA from the start.
The FAA and the union have been locked in a long-running feud over staffing levels, workplace rules and related issues as part of a broader debate over the adequacy of the nation's air traffic control system.
The union says the system is badly frayed due to workplace changes and the retirement of many seasoned controllers.
The FAA says the changes have saved taxpayer money without compromising safety.
Union and FAA officials say the Lindbergh incursion occurred after a Hawker Siddeley corporate jet landed and prepared to taxi off Lindbergh's lone landing strip.
Anticipating the Hawker's exit from the runway, a Lindbergh controller cleared Southwest Flight 1626 for takeoff, officials said. As the Boeing 737 gained speed, the Hawker remained on the west end of the runway, where it had briefly stopped because of a mechanical problem.
The controller radioed the Southwest pilot to abort the takeoff, but it was too late to stop the plane without jeopardizing passenger safety, officials said.
Both FAA and union officials described the controller as a longtime employee with a good safety record.
Davis said the controller had been working six days a week because of staffing strains at Lindbergh.
Fifteen fully certified controllers staff the tower along with five trainees. The FAA says the facility has a designated staffing range of 14 to 18 controllers.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, has requested a congressional investigation into the incident. The last recorded incursion at Lindbergh was in late 2003.
Steve Schmidt: (619) 293-1380; steve.schmidt@uniontrib.com
