Southwest Airlines close call at Chicago Midway Airport caused in part by sun blindness, NTSB says
The close call between a Southwest Airlines plan and a private business jet at Chicago Midway Airport was at least partially caused by sun blindness, the NTSB said in a new report.
The near-collision happened on Feb. 25, when the Southwest flight 2504 from Omaha aborted its landing to avoid a potential crash with the business jet.The NTSB said the Southwest first officer realized the jet was going to taxi in front of them when the 737 plane was about 100 feet off the ground. The officer called for a go around and the pilots were able to throttle up and climb to avoid the private jet.The National Transportation Safety Board investigation found at their closest point, the planes were approximately 200 feet apart laterally and only 175 feet apart vertically as the Southwest plane climbed to go around.
The captain of the private jet told the NTSB the sun interfered with their view during taxi, and they essentially lost track of where they were on the airfield. The pilots believed they were crossing a different runway than the one they actually crossed, the NTSB said.
