Collision of Airliners Averted by Computer
An air traffic control error put two airliners carrying a total of 210 people on a collision course at 31,000 feet until a computer sounded an alarm, a Federal Aviation Administration official said Tuesday.
A disaster over the north Georgia mountains was averted Monday night when a controller, alerted by the alarm, ordered one of the Boeing 727s to descend to 29,000 feet, FAA spokesman Jack Barker said.
The near-collision involved Delta Air Lines Flight 602 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Chicago and Eastern Air Lines Flight 687 from Philadelphia to Atlanta.
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