Pilot Debrief

EMBRAER EMB-145LR near CHICAGO, IL — 2011-05-16

Final reportOPS11IA552
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Date
2011-05-16
Location
CHICAGO, IL, USA
Airport
KORD
Aircraft
EMBRAER EMB-145LR
Registration
N15574
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The air traffic controller’s failure to adhere to runway separation requirements and his issuance of an improper takeoff clearance. Contributing to the incident was the controller's failure to recall that there was an arrival inbound to a crossing runway.

NTSB narrative

A near-midair collision occurred between a Bombardier CRJ2 landing on runway 9R and an Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet departing from runway 32L. The CRJ2 passed 480 feet behind and 275 feet above the ERJ-145. According to the tower air traffic controller responsible for operations on runway 32L, he scanned the final approach course for runway 9R to look for conflicting traffic and saw the approaching CRJ2. However, he then forgot about the arrival and cleared the ERJ-145 for takeoff. The controller was unable to provide any explanation for the lapse. The airport was not equipped with automated assistance for detecting conflicts between departures and arrivals on crossing runways such as these.

NTSB coding

  • Air traffic event · Takeoff
  • Air traffic event · Approach
View NTSB final report

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