2 Near-Collisions Involving Air Canada Prompt Inquiry

Federal aviation officials and Air Canada have begun joint investigations of two near-collisions between the carrier’s jetliners and private planes over New York and Massachusetts, officials said Wednesday.

The latest incident, involving an Air Canada DC-9, occurred at 12:34 p.m. Tuesday about 20 miles northwest of Kingston, N.Y., a Federal Aviation Administration duty officer said.

The jetliner, bound for Newark, N.J., came within 100 yards horizontally of the small plane, the Air Canada pilot reported. The pilot did not know the vertical distance between the two planes, said the FAA officer, who asked not to be identified.

Earlier Tuesday, federal officials reported that two flight attendants suffered minor injuries when an Air Canada jetliner carrying 132 passengers almost collided Saturday with a twin-engine plane four miles south of Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Confirms Both Incidents

A spokesman for Air Canada in Montreal confirmed both incidents and said the airline is cooperating with the FAA investigation.

“The FAA is interviewing all the people involved,” spokesman Andrew Mahon said. “We are assisting in this and will ask them to advise us of any findings that will have an impact on our operations.”

Tuesday’s incident occurred as Air Canada Flight 734 out of Toronto was flying at an altitude of 9,200 feet over Upstate New York with 49 passengers on board, Mahon said.

“When the plane was . . . over New York, the pilot saw another plane intruding on his airspace,” Mahon said. “He determined that no evasive action was necessary, and he landed without incident. No one was hurt.”

No details about the second plane were available.

In the earlier mishap, Air Canada Flight 807--a Boeing 727 en route from Boston’s Logan International Airport to Toronto--had climbed to an altitude of 12,500 feet Saturday when the pilot noticed a twin-engine Cessna 402 descending and about to cross its path, FAA spokesman Michael Ciccarelli said.

From the reports filed by the pilots of both planes, officials believe they came within 100 feet vertically of each other, Ciccarelli said.

“The Cessna took evasive action by climbing and turning. The Boeing 727, which was climbing pointing up, simply nosed down,” Ciccarelli said.

The Air Canada jet’s sudden tilt caused minor injuries to two flight attendants who hit their heads on the ceiling or a rack, Ciccarelli said.

The Air Canada spokesman said the airline planned no action against the Cessna pilot.

Both planes reached their destinations without further incident and both near-collisions were under investigation, Ciccarelli said.