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U.S. probes near collision of airliner, small plane

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WASHINGTON | Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:49pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. aviation safety investigators said on Tuesday they are looking into why a commercial jetliner and a small light airplane came within about 300 feet of colliding over San Francisco on Saturday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it launched the investigation after a United Airlines Boeing 777 en route to Beijing flew about 300 feet under an Aeronca 11AC shortly after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport.

The NTSB said in a statement the pilots of United Airlines flight 889, which was carrying 251 passengers and 17 crew, saw the light high-wing Aeronca shortly after the 777 had taken off and was retracting its landing gear.

The air traffic controller warned there was an aircraft nearby and the pilots of the United flight leveled out to avoid the small plane, the statement said.

After the near-miss, the airplane continued to Beijing without further incident, the NTSB said.

(Reporting by Deborah Charles; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Comments (2)
Story_Burn wrote:
Maybe the pilots got an early start on the legalization of the wacky weed

Mar 30, 2010 10:03pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
maxtrescott wrote:
The NTSB has corrected its original press release. It’s wasn’t an Aeronca 11AC. Instead it was a C182 based locally in the S.F. Bay area. You can read full details and hear audio of the controller and airplanes at: http://www.bit.ly/baz4zm

Apr 01, 2010 4:10pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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