Air traffic controllers directed a plane carrying Michelle Obama, the US president’s wife, to abort a landing at Andrews Air Force Base because it was too close to a military cargo jet, officials said on Tuesday.
A Boeing 737 belonging to the US Air National Guard, one of several guard planes used by the White House, came within about 5km of a massive C-17 as the planes were approaching Andrews shortly after 5pm on Monday to land, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Major Michelle Lai, a spokeswoman for Andrews.
The FAA requires a minimum separation of 8km between two planes when the plane in the lead is as large as the 180 tonne cargo jet, in order to avoid dangerous wake turbulence that can severely affect the trailing aircraft.
The FAA is investigating the incident as a possible error by controllers at a regional radar facility in Warrenton, Virginia, that handles approaches and departures for several airports, including Andrews, where the president’s aircraft, Air Force One, is maintained.
The C-17 and Obama’s plane did not have the proper separation when controllers in Warrenton handed them off to the Andrews controllers, a source familiar with the incident said.
Andrews air traffic controllers initially ordered Obama’s plane to conduct a series of turns to bring it farther from the military jet. When that did not provide enough distance, controllers realized that there might not be enough time for the cargo plane to clear the Andrews runway before Obama’s plane landed.
Controllers then directed the pilot of Obama’s plane to execute a “go-around” — to stop descending and start climbing — and circle the airport, located in a Maryland suburb of Washington. A go-around is considered a type of aborted landing.
“The aircraft were never in any danger,” the FAA said in a statement.
Aviation safety expert John Cox agreed that an accident had been unlikely.
“Every professional pilot I have ever known has been in the situation where they were overtaking the plane in front of them and asked to do an S-turn,” said Cox, a former airline pilot. “The only issue that could have come up was if they had encountered the wake of the C-17.”
Even then, Cox said, the 737 is a “very controllable” plane.
“I don’t think Mrs Obama’s plane would have been in any jeopardy,” Cox said.
Jill Biden, wife of US Vice President Joe Biden, also was on the plane with Obama. The first lady had been in New York earlier in the day for a TV interview.
The first lady’s office declined to comment and referred all questions to officials at the FAA and Andrews. The president’s West Wing press office did likewise.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is gathering information about the incident, but has not yet decided whether it will open a formal investigation, board spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.
The incident was first reported on Tuesday by the Washington Post on its Web site.
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