OB-CPO
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http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS/705250379/1001
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]A C-130 military cargo plane came close to crossing the path of a go! passenger jet taking off from Honolulu International Airport at about 100 mph, the Federal Aviation Administration said. "I've seen other incidents throughout my career but this was by far the closest," air traffic controller Thom Gurule said yesterday. "I hate the term 'near miss.' This was a 'near hit.' I don't want to see anything any closer."
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]He twice gave the pilot instructions to "exit at Taxiway Echo, turn left, cross Runway 4 Left, then turn left on Taxiway Bravo, which runs parallel to Taxiway 8 Left," Gregor said. "But the C-130 pilot didn't make the left turn on Taxiway B. He kept going straight on, heading straight toward Runway 8, where the regional jet was on its take-off." [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]
The go! jet — known as Air Shuttle 1018 — was pointed in the diamondhead direction of Runway 8 and had just gotten permission from Gurule to take off. Gurule then looked up just in time to see that the C-130 had not turned onto Taxiway B and instead was on the makai side of the runway facing the terminals — rolling directly into the path of the oncoming go! jet.
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]SPLIT-SECOND REACTION
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1] Gurule said the C-130 pilot "was definitely in a very dangerous place to be." The go! pilot was bearing down "past the point of no return," Gurule said. Gurule said he yelled at the C-130 pilot to "hold your position. ... And he just stopped abruptly." Sorenson said Gurule "didn't have two seconds or one second to think. It was a split-second, gut reaction to yell out to stop the pilot. Had he waited one or two seconds longer, we would definitely be talking about a different set of circumstances."
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]Air Shuttle 1018 then lifted into the air in front of the C-130 and a nervous pilot came on the radio. "There was a slight moment of silence," Gurule said. "I asked Air Shuttle 1018, 'Are you OK?' You could tell the pilot was absolutely shaken up. His response was, 'It was a little crazy for a second but we're OK.' Then he was concerned that maybe he did something wrong. His question to me was, 'I was cleared for take-off, wasn't I?' Gurule then directed the C-130 pilot to contact the tower about a possible "pilot deviation" and had no further contact with him.
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]The FAA continues to investigate the incident.
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