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‘Hazardous Proximity’
An airliner on go-around and a business jet on departure
came close together in an airport hot spot.
BY MARK LACAGNINA
FLIGHTSAFETY.ORG | AEROSAFETYWORLD | MAY 2013
ONRECORD
The following information provides an awareness of problems that might be avoided in the future. The information
is based on final reports by official investigative authorities on aircraft accidents and incidents.
JETS
Late Go-Around Cited
Airbus A320, Bombardier Learjet 60. No damage. No injuries.
The absence of air traffic control (ATC)
procedures ensuring separation between
aircraft going around from one runway
and entering the flight path of aircraft departing
from a different runway contributed to an
incident that placed the A320 and the Learjet in
“hazardous proximity” at Las Vegas McCarran
International Airport in Nevada, said the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
“The closest proximity of the two aircraft
was approximately 0.3 nm [0.6 km] laterally and
100 ft [30 m] vertically,” said the NTSB’s final
report on the near midair collision, which occurred
at 1225 local time on April 26, 2012.
The A320 was inbound to Las Vegas on a
scheduled passenger flight from Boston, Massachusetts,
and the Learjet, of Mexican registration,
was departing from McCarran. The report did
not specify the Learjet’s destination or how many
people were aboard either of the two aircraft.
Day visual meteorological conditions (VMC)
prevailed, with winds from the south at 19 kt,
gusting to 26 kt. McCarran has two sets of parallel
runways. Aircraft operations on Runways 25L
and 25R, located on the south side of the airport,
were being coordinated by a controller at the “local
control 1” (LC1) position; operations on Runways
19L and 19R, on the west side of the field,
were being coordinated by a different controller
at the “local control 2” (LC2) position.
The A320 crew was conducting a visual
approach to Runway 25L and had been cleared
to land by the LC1 controller. Shortly thereafter,
the Learjet crew was cleared for takeoff from
Runway 19L by the LC2 controller.
The departure thresholds of the runways are
about 1,600 ft (488 m) apart. “The two runways
do not physically intersect,” the report said.
“However, the flight paths of the runways intersect
approximately 0.32 nautical miles [0.59 km]
past the departure end of Runway 19L.” Runway
25L is 10,526 ft (3,208 m) long, and Runway 19L
is 9,775 ft (2,979 m) long.
The A320 was about one-third of the way
down Runway 25L when the crew reported that
they were going around. The LC1 controller
acknowledged, saying in part: “Roger, on the
go, and traffic will be at your two o’clock and
one mile, a Learjet.” The controller also shouted
“go around,” a normal practice to alert the other
controllers on duty in the tower cab that a goaround
was in progress.
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