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Airbus A320 of Air Canada Near Misses Maneuver
Airbus A320 of Air Canada Near Misses Maneuver in San Francisco. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an apparent near miss of an Air Canada flight at the San Francisco airport.He says Toronto's AC759 flight was cleared to land on a runway last Friday, but the pilot "inadvertently" lined up for a taxiway where four planes were waiting to depart. An air traffic controller became aware of the problem and ordered the pilot to withdraw and make another approach.
The Airbus 320 landed safely. The FAA is currently investigating the distance between the Air Canada aircraft and the aircraft lined up on the taxiway running parallel to the runway. He describes the July 7 incident as "very rare." Air Canada says 135 passengers and five crew members were aboard the flight from Toronto.
It was not clear how many people were on the four planes on the taxiway. Air Canada is also investigating the incident, a company spokesman said.
"AC759 flight from Toronto Air Canada was preparing to land at San Francisco airport on Friday night when the plane started a spin," said Peter Fitzpatrick quoted by CBC News.
"The plane landed normally without incident. We are still investigating the circumstances and therefore have no additional information to offer." Meanwhile, an audio recording has emerged from what is said last Friday communications between air traffic controllers and pilots at the San Francisco airport.
In it, a male voice that is believed to be the Air Canada pilot is heard saying there are lights on the runway. One of the air traffic controllers replies that there are no other planes there.
Another voice - unidentified - is heard saying, "Where's this guy going? He's on the taxiway. The air traffic controller then apparently realizes the danger that the Air Canada plane crashes into the four planes on the ground and orders the pilot to get up and make another approach.
A pilot of one of the planes on the ground is heard saying: "United One, Air Canada flew directly over us."
"If it is true, what happened probably came close to the biggest aviation disaster in history," said United Airlines captain Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts. "If you could imagine an Airbus colliding with four bodies of wide-jet aircraft, full of fuel and passengers, then you can imagine how horrible it could have been," he said.
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