Air controller's error caused near collision, NTSB says

CHICAGO -- An air traffic controller erred in clearing a plane for takeoff last year and nearly caused a jetliner collision at O'Hare International Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

A controller who had just relieved a co-worker a minute earlier cleared an American Eagle commuter plane with 49 passengers to take off while a United Airlines Boeing 747 bound for Hong Kong with 314 passengers was taking off from another runway, the board reported of the Aug. 6, 2000, incident.

In its ruling issued Friday, the NTSB said the pilots on the smaller plane saw the 747 taking off and changed the plane's ascent to miss it, temporarily leveling off at 100 feet to allow the jumbo jet to fly overhead. Safety board investigators said the planes came within 400 feet of each other.

Nobody was injured and pilots of the larger plane were unaware of the close call. A transcript of radio communications showed the air traffic controller may have been distracted directing a truck waiting to enter a runway to look for debris.

The Federal Aviation Administration says new measures are in place to improve coordination between air traffic controllers at the O'Hare tower.