ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702100058
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
THE AIR FORCE suspended flights after four National Guard jets flew too close to a civilian plane in a restricted area off the East Coast.
Four National Guard fighter jets screamed past a civilian airliner off the coast of Maryland on Friday, the second harrowing incident involving Guard F-16s and airliners in the area in three days.
The Air Force quickly suspended all its flights in restricted areas along the East Coast for a review of rules and operating procedures.
At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration told controllers at its centers in Florida, Washington and New York and military controllers in Virginia to review procedures for operations in and around East Coast military areas.
The American Eagle turboprop took no special action in Friday's incident, and no one was hurt. The pilot of a Nations Air Boeing 727 two days earlier dived into evasive maneuvers, and two flight attendants and a passenger were thrown to the cabin floor.
In that earlier incident off New Jersey's coast, a civilian controller following the planes had repeatedly expressed his concern and asked military controllers to get the Guard plane that was closest to the 727 to move away.
The National Transportation Safety Board mobilized investigative teams to look into both incidents.
Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd, director of the Air National Guard, said at a Pentagon briefing that he considered military aviation safe, noting that thousands of flights occur each day over the East Coast.
``In my opinion ... it's very safe,'' he said. ``We have very, very few incidents.''
In the order suspending flights, Air Force Chief of Staff Ronald Fogleman said he was acting ``as a precaution to ensure all procedures are sound and present no compromise to safety.''
There was no indication how long the suspension would last.
Maj. Mike Milord, a spokesman for the District of Columbia Air National Guard, said that in Friday's incident the planes were returning from air combat training when they passed the airliner.
An FAA official said the pilot of the American Eagle airliner, a Saab 330 turboprop, reported that two jet fighters flew above his plane and two below.
Shepperd said three fighters passed at least 1,000 feet above the civilian plane and the fourth, returning because of low fuel, was 1,500 feet below.
``There was no imminent collision; all had the airliner in sight,'' the general said.
The incident was reported by the American Eagle pilot, who was en route from Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina to New York's JFK Airport.
In the earlier incident, a government official said Friday that military and civilian controllers hundreds of miles apart were coordinating the flights of two F-16s and the Nations Air jetliner.
The jet fighters and the airliner carrying 84 passengers all had clearance to fly through restricted airspace off New Jersey, the official said. But two days after the incident, details were still in dispute.
An official of the airline charged that the fighter pilots ``screwed up'' or ``were playing games'' during the encounter. But New Jersey National Guard Col. Thomas Griffin said the airliner was never in danger and the F-16 pilots simply were trying to identify a plane that shouldn't have been in that sector.
A Navy spokesman, Capt. Mike John, said Friday that Navy air traffic controllers warned the fighter pilots that a civilian plane was in the area. John said the pilots acknowledged receiving the warning.
A government official familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said civilian air traffic controllers in New York cleared the airliner to fly through the area and were coordinating the movement with military air traffic controllers in Virginia Beach, Va., who handle military flights in the 5,600-square-mile area. The two National Guard planes were supposed to be practicing interception maneuvers against each other, the official said.
When one of the F-16s approached the airliner, a civilian controller in New York expressed concern to the military controller, the official said. The military controller then contacted the F-16 and reminded him there was a civilian plane present, and the Air Guard pilot responded that he had the 727 on radar.
Less than a minute later, the civilian controller again expressed concern that the F-16 was coming too close to the airliner, the official said. The military controller then contacted the F-16 again, warned him and gave him an altitude and course to avoid any problems. The F-16 pilot responded that he had the airliner in sight and was ``breaking off,'' the official said.
CNN played a tape quoting the civilian controller as saying his supervisor would complain to the military ``because you're supposed to keep your guys away from my guys, and that doesn't seem to be working!''
When TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island in July, it was near the edge of a restricted military area, prompting speculation that the jetliner had been accidentally fired upon. The military said this was not a possibility.
NTSB spokesman Paul Schlamm said the board has requested radar, radio and flight data recordings and will visit the FAA air traffic control centers in Leesburg, Va., and on Long Island, the National Guard facility in Atlantic City, N.J., and the Navy air traffic control facility in Virginia Beach.
``We will try to develop a picture of what happened, what caused the problem and, hopefully, we can make some recommendations to prevent it from happening in the future,'' Schlamm said.
The Nations Air charter flight carrying 77 passengers and seven crew members from San Juan, Puerto Rico, landed as scheduled in New York, where the pilot reported Wednesday afternoon's encounter.
AP-ES-02-07-97 2006EWASHINGTON - Four National Guard fighter jets screamed past a civilian airliner over Delaware on Friday, the second harrowing incident involving Guard F-16s and airliners in the area in three days.
The Air Force quickly suspended all Reserve and National Guard flights in restricted areas along the East Coast for a review of rules and operating procedures.
At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration told controllers at its centers in Florida, Washington and New York and military controllers in Virginia to review procedures for operations in and around East Coast military areas.
The American Eagle turboprop took no special action in Friday's incident, and no one was hurt. The pilot of a Nations Air Boeing 727 two days earlier dove into evasive maneuvers, and two flight attendants and a passenger were thrown to the cabin floor.
In that earlier incident, off New Jersey, a civilian controller following the planes had repeatedly expressed his concern and asked military controllers to get the Guard plane that was closest to the 727 to move away.
The National Transportation Safety Board mobilized investigation teams to look into both incidents.
Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shepperd, director of the Air National Guard, said at a Pentagon briefing that he considered military aviation safe, noting that thousands of flights occur each day over the East Coast.
``In my opinion ... it's very safe,'' he said. ``We have very, very few incidents.''
In the order suspending flights, Air Force Chief of Staff Ronald Fogleman said he was acting ``as a precaution to ensure all procedures are sound and present no compromise to safety.''
There was no indication how long the suspension would last.
Maj. Mike Milord, a spokesman for the District of Columbia Air National Guard, said that in Friday's incident the planes were returning from air combat training when they passed the airliner.
A Federal Aviation Administration official said the pilot of the American Eagle airliner, a Saab 330 turboprop, reported that two jet fighters flew above his plane and two below.
Shepperd said three fighters passed at least 1,000 feet above the civilian plane and the fourth, returning because of low fuel, was 1,500 feet below it.
``There was no imminent collision, all had the airliner in sight,'' the general said.
The incident was reported by the American Eagle pilot, who was en route from Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina to New York's JFK Airport.
In the earlier incident, a government official said Friday that military and civilian controllers hundreds of miles apart were coordinating the flights of two F-16s and the Nations Air jetliner.
The jet fighters and the airliner carrying 84 passengers all had clearance to fly through restricted airspace off New Jersey, the official said. But two days after the incident, details were still in dispute.
An official of the airline charged that the fighter pilots ``screwed up'' or ``were playing games'' during the encounter. But New Jersey National Guard Col. Thomas E. Griffin said that the airliner was never in danger and the F-16 pilots simply were trying to identify a plane that shouldn't have been in that sector.
A Navy spokesman, Capt. Mike John, said Friday that Navy air traffic controllers warned the fighter pilots that a civilian plane was in the area. John said the pilots acknowledged receiving the warning.
A government official familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said civilian air traffic controllers in New York cleared the airliner to fly through the area and were coordinating the movement with military air traffic controllers in Virginia Beach, Va., who handle military flights in the 5,600 square-mile area. The two National Guard planes were supposed to be practicing interception maneuvers against each other, the official said.
When one of the F-16s approached the airliner, a civilian controller in New York expressed concern to the military controller, the official said. The military controller then contacted the F-16 and reminded him there was a civilian plane present and the Air Guard pilot responded that he had the 727 on radar.
Less than a minute later the civilian controller again expressed concern that the F-16 was coming too close to the airliner, the official said. The military controller then contacted the F-16 again, warned him and gave him an altitude and course to avoid any problems. The F-16 pilot responded that he had the airliner in sight and was ``breaking off,'' the official said.
CNN played a tape quoting the civilian controller as saying his supervisor would complain to the military ``because you're supposed to keep your guys away from my guys and that doesn't seem to be working!''
When TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island last July, it was near the edge of a restricted military area, prompting speculation that the jetliner had been accidentally fired upon. The military said there was no possibility of that.
NTSB spokesman Paul Schlamm said the board has requested radar, radio and flight data recordings and will visit the Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control centers in Leesburg, Va., and on Long Island, the National Guard facility in Atlantic City, N.J., and the Navy air traffic control facility in Virginia Beach.
``We will try to develop a picture of what happened, what caused the problem and, hopefully, we can make some recommendations to prevent it from happening in the future,'' Schlamm said.
The Nations Air charter flight carrying 77 passengers and seven crew members from San Juan, Puerto Rico, landed as scheduled in New York, where the pilot reported Wednesday afternoon's encounter.
LENGTH: Long : 192 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Griffin. color.by CNB