A Wing And A Prayer: Planes That Almost Crashed

Another Close Call over Houston

Two United Airlines planes nearly collided as they were preparing to take off from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston, Texas. The United flight 601 was instructed to take off, bound for Vancouver, just as United flight 437 took off from another runway, bound for Mexico City.

According to reports, air-traffic control ordered the Vancouver flight to “turn right,” which put it in the direct flight path of the Mexico-City flight. The controller corrected this mistake by saying, “United 601 stop your turn, stop your- let’s just stop your climb and stop your turn, United 601.” There were 150 passengers on each flight, and the NTSB investigated the incident.

Crazy Drone Near Miss at Birmingham Airport

Sometimes, the near miss in the air involves more than just planes. There are also little things like drones that sometimes get in the flight path and cause all sorts of trouble. It appears to be a rather severe and recurring problem in the UK, which most recently caused problems at Birmingham Airport. It’s such a recurring issue that the UK Airprox (aircraft proximity) Board said they were investigating a system to track the flight path of drones after seven recent near misses locally and even more “around the country.”

According to the The Civil Aviation Authority, “Users must understand that when putting a device into the air they are interacting with one of the busiest areas of airspace in the world – a complex system that brings together all manner of aircraft including passenger aeroplanes, military jets, helicopters, gliders, light aircraft and now drones.” When users initiate near misses or collisions, they can be prosecuted and/or fined.