Jet’s Landing Too Close for Comfort : Airport: Controller is relieved of duties after a United Airlines flight lands on a Lindbergh Field runway where a commuter plane was preparing to take off.

A United Airlines jetliner passed directly over a commuter plane preparing to take off and landed on the same runway Wednesday at Lindbergh Field, in violation of Federal Aviation Administration safety regulations.

An FAA spokeswoman described the incident as an “operational error.”

The air traffic controller who permitted the maneuver has been removed from all “safety-related duties” while the matter is being investigated, FAA spokeswoman Elly Brekke said.

The United Airlines 737 from Sacramento was heading into Lindbergh Field just before 10 a.m. when it received clearance to land. At the same time, Sky West twin-engine commuter plane was preparing to take off for Los Angeles.

The United Airlines jetliner passed over the smaller plane and landed within 1,810 feet of it, in violation of the safety threshold for landing and takeoffs. But Brekke said that in no way “did they nearly crash.”

Brekke said the United pilot told the control tower that he saw the Sky West. She could not confirm whether the Sky West pilot saw the jetliner, but she said it had not been given final clearance for takeoff.

Neither pilot filed a near-collision report, but such reports--which document close calls--are not required by the FAA, Brekke said.

The investigation will take 30 days to six months to complete, she said.

Until that time, the air traffic controller, who has not been identified, has been removed from regular duties.

“It is standard that the FAA remove the controller, who will be retrained and recertified while we determine why the error was made,” she said. “The controller is still being paid and working at the tower but is not involved in safety-related duties.”