NTSB Probes Aviation Incidents

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating two runway incursion incidents and an aircraft separation incident, all of which occurred in a two-day period. A regional jet narrowly missed a general aviation aircraft during a nighttime landing at Fresno Yosemite International in California.  On August 28, a Piper PA-46 landed on runway 29R.  Before the aircraft had exited the runway, the tower controller cleared a SkyWest Canadair CRJ to land on the same runway. The CRJ pilot saw the Piper and veered to the right side of the runway, missing the aircraft by an estimated 15 feet, wingtip to wingtip. In the second runway incursion incident, a pilot of a general aviation aircraft landed on a closed runway at the Reading Regional Airport/Carl A. Spaatz Field, in Reading, PA.  On August 27, 2008, a Cessna 172 landed on runway 18, which was closed, after receiving a clearance to land on the closed runway by the tower controller.  In the aircraft separation incident, two jetliners came within one minute lateral separation over the Atlantic Ocean in a non-radar environment where 15 minutes of lateral separation is required.  On August 28, Transaero Flight 554, a Boeing 747-400, and Delta Flight 485, a Boeing 737-800 came within zero feet vertical and one minute lateral separation at an altitude of 33,000 feet about 179 miles north of San Juan, PR.  The Transaero 747 descended 200-300 feet after receiving an alert from its Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).