In this case, when a controller made a mistake, a cockpit alert saved the lives of those aboard two aircraft over Indiana. What's even scarier than the near-miss: normally, the planes would have been flying even faster than they were.
For years, air traffic centers have been incredibly under-staffed. They have to fight for every job slot, and every new piece of equpment. It's another example of a crucial government agency which is over-tasked and under-funded.
What is "politics as usual " to the bureaucrats can be life or death to others.
A Chicago-bound jet came within seconds of a midair collision at 25,000 feet over Indiana, but a cockpit safety device alerted the pilots flying the other plane of the danger ahead, officials said Wednesday.
The near collision Tuesday evening was attributed to an error by an air-traffic controller who directed an eastbound Midwest Airlines plane to descend into the path of a westbound United Express jet, according to a preliminary investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Source: chicagotribune.com via PEP
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