Countywide : Near-Crash Report Prompts FAA Study
Federal Aviation Administration officials have identified the pilot of the Cessna light plane that allegedly flew too close to a Delta Airlines jetliner at John Wayne Airport but continued Monday to refuse to name the pilot or discuss the incident further.
Joe Fowler, manager of the FAA control tower, said the investigation into the incident is just beginning and that tape recordings of conversations between air traffic controllers and the two pilots have not been played back yet.
“I haven’t done it yet for lack of time,” Fowler said.
Citing the federal privacy act, FAA officials said they will not release the name of the Cessna pilot.
The Cessna and Delta Flight 725 with 168 passengers from Dallas-Ft. Worth were landing on parallel runways shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday when the Delta pilot aborted his approach and landed on a second attempt.
The pilot filed a near-midair collision report stating that he went around as a precautionary measure because the Cessna’s angle appeared to put it on a collision course with the landing jetliner.
Both the FAA and the airline described the incident as minor.
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