Blinding sunlight was partially to blame for last month’s near-collision between a Southwest Airlines jet and a Flexjet business aircraft at Midway International Airport, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.
The incident happened about 8:50 a.m. Feb. 25 when the Southwest flight from Omaha, Nebraska, was on final approach to land at Midway. As the Southwest aicraft was close to touching down the Flexjet taxied into its path, forcing the Southwest pilots to abort the landing and rapidly return to the air to avoid hitting the smaller jet, officials have said.
The Flexjet pilot followed instructions from ground controllers to take taxiway F and turn left onto runway 4L, then cross runway 31L and stop before runway 31C, where the Southwest plane was preparing to land, the NTSB report said.
But after the Flexjet pilot made the left turn onto runway 4L, “the sun was impeding visibility from the right side of the aircraft,” and the pilot didn’t recall seeing any signage indicating the runway 31L intersection and he continued forward, the report states.
Runway 31L also came immediately after the Flexjet’s turn onto runway 4L, “and by the time the nosewheel had straightened out, they were likely halfway across” Runway 31L, leading the pilot to believe he hadn’t yet crossed it, the report states.
That caused the Flexjet pilot to think he was supposed to cross the next runway, which was the one the Southwest flight was approaching, according to the report.
As the Flexjet approached the runway, both crew members “looked to the left and to the right and did not observe” the Southwest plane on final descent, leading them to cross runway 31C roughly six seconds before the Southwest plane reached the intersection, according to the report.
Ground controllers also told the Flexjet crew to hold short of Runway 31C, “but the transmission was not acknowledged,” the report states.
The Southwest plane came within 25 feet of the ground before it ascended again and narrowly missed the Flexjet aircraft by 175 feet, according to the report.
To avoid hitting the Flexjet, the Southwest pilots initiated a go-around maneuver, which is when the pilot aborts a landing attempt and ascends back into the air to circle around and try again. But the maneuver wouldn’t have been possible if the plane had landed, aviation experts have said.
“Two pilots from Southwest saved the day,” Allied Pilots Association spokesperson Dennis Tajer previously told the Sun-Times, saying the pilots’ perfect go-around likely avoided catastrophe.
“The maneuver was executed smoothly and without incident,” the NTSB report states.
The Southwest plane later landed safely at Midway. None of the 136 passengers or six crew members were injured, according to the NTSB. A passenger who was on board the flight later told the Sun-Times that she hadn’t been aware that her fellow passengers were ever in peril until she saw video of the go-around when she landed later in Dallas.
The two pilots and one passenger aboard the Flexjet aircraft were not injured, the NTSB said. The plane departed about 25 minutes after the near-collision and landed safely at its destination in Alcoa, Tennessee.
The NTSB is still investigating the incident.