Small Cargo planes collide in MKE
01-24-2007, 07:24 PM
#1
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Small Cargo planes collide in MKE
Small Cargo Planes Collide in Wis.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
MILWAUKEE — Two cargo planes collided and burned on an airport taxiway Wednesday night, but no serious injuries were reported.
A spokeswoman for General Mitchell International Airport said both pilots escaped after the accident between "small cargo planes" from the same company, Freight Runners Express Inc. of Milwaukee.
Firefighting crews put out the blazes.
The airport was shut down for about a half-hour, said Rowe, adding that she didn't know how many flights were affected.
"It probably caused very little disruption," she said.
A woman who answered the telephone at Freight Runners said she couldn't immediately comment.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Isn't Freight Runners the UPS contractor?
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
MILWAUKEE — Two cargo planes collided and burned on an airport taxiway Wednesday night, but no serious injuries were reported.
A spokeswoman for General Mitchell International Airport said both pilots escaped after the accident between "small cargo planes" from the same company, Freight Runners Express Inc. of Milwaukee.
Firefighting crews put out the blazes.
The airport was shut down for about a half-hour, said Rowe, adding that she didn't know how many flights were affected.
"It probably caused very little disruption," she said.
A woman who answered the telephone at Freight Runners said she couldn't immediately comment.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Isn't Freight Runners the UPS contractor?
01-26-2007, 08:46 PM
#2
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Joined APC: Oct 2005
Posts: 38
Yep...both airplanes were identified as UPS feeders....
Update....
Blame asserted in plane collision
Freight company says controllers should have alerted pilots
By LARRY SANDLER
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 25, 2007
An air freight company Thursday blamed federal air traffic controllers for
Wednesday night's fiery ground collision between two planes at Mitchell
International Airport.
Freight Runners Express, which owns the two cargo aircraft that hit each
other, issued a statement saying that controllers told both of the veteran
pilots to move on the intersecting taxiways where they collided. One pilot
was slightly injured in the resulting fireball.
The federal government has spent millions of dollars on ground radar systems
at Mitchell over the past 12 years, trying to prevent ground collisions
between planes and other vehicles. But the current $14.5 million system is
focused only on runways and isn't designed to prevent taxiway collisions, an
FAA spokeswoman said.
Besides, on a clear night such as Wednesday's, ground controllers would have
been watching the runways and taxiways through the control tower windows,
not looking at the radar screen, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, an FAA
spokeswoman in Des Plaines, Ill.
According to Cory, Freight Runners and Airport Director C. Barry Bateman,
the crash occurred after the two twin-engine propeller planes landed on
parallel runways shortly after 8 p.m. If fitted for passengers, the smaller
plane would seat 10; the larger one, 15.
The smaller plane, Freight Runners Flight 1539, a Cessna 402 piloted by
James Kremsreiter, arrived from Baraboo and landed on Mitchell's smaller
east-west runway. Kremsreiter then taxied around the terminal.
About the same time, the larger aircraft, Freight Runners Flight 1509, a
Beechcraft 99 piloted by Charley Stephenson, arrived from Stevens Point and
landed on the airport's main east-west runway. Then Stephenson turned off on
a taxiway.
They collided at the intersection of those two taxiways and a third taxiway.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. But Milwaukee-based
Freight Runners pinned the blame on controllers.
"Both aircraft were operating in controlled areas under explicit
instructions of air traffic control," the Freight Runners statement said.
"One aircraft was given instructions by (the tower) to exit a high-speed
taxiway, and the other aircraft was issued unrestricted clearance by (ground
control) to move on an adjoining taxiway.
"The aircraft collided where the taxiways intersected. Neither pilot was
notified by (air traffic control) of the impending conflict at the
intersection, which would have prevented this accident."
In an interview, Freight Runners General Manager Robert Sevier said the
pilots couldn't see each other because of "a blind spot" at the
intersection.
Cory and Bateman confirmed both aircraft were in contact with the tower.
But Cory said she and Freight Runners were prohibited from discussing the
possible cause of the accident by the rules of National Transportation
Safety Board investigations. The NTSB, however, has not formally decided
whether to launch an inquiry, said Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in
Washington, D.C. If the NTSB does not step in, the FAA would run the
investigation.
As for Freight Runners' statement, Holloway said, "The NTSB does not jump to
conclusions so early."
Freight Runners said Kremsreiter has 48 years of experience and Stephenson
has 37 years of experience. Stephenson suffered minor burns to his hand,
scalp and face, the company said.
In the 1990s, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association voiced alarm
about several near-collisions on Mitchell's runways.
The airport wasn't in line for a top-of-the-line ground radar system, but
under pressure from the Wisconsin congressional delegation, the FAA agreed
to experiment with a system designed for maritime use. Mitchell became the
first U.S. airport to test that system and in 2003 was the first to install
the latest system.
Since Oct. 1, 2001, Mitchell has had 18 minor runway incidents, none posing
a serious risk of collision, among more than 1.5 million takeoffs and
landings, Cory said.
But the ground radar is intended to prevent collisions in poor visibility on
runways, where high-speed takeoffs and landings leave little room for error,
Cory said. It wasn't designed for taxiways crowded with slow-moving aircraft
and vehicles, she said.
"The thing would be going off all the time if you had it configured for the
taxiway," Cory said.
Wednesday's collision was the second runway accident at Mitchell in less
than a week. On Sunday, a Northwest Airlines DC-9 ran off the end of a
runway, slightly injuring one passenger.
But Bateman said the events were unrelated and not cause for concern.
"There's no trends here," Bateman said.
Update....
Blame asserted in plane collision
Freight company says controllers should have alerted pilots
By LARRY SANDLER
[email protected]
Posted: Jan. 25, 2007
An air freight company Thursday blamed federal air traffic controllers for
Wednesday night's fiery ground collision between two planes at Mitchell
International Airport.
Freight Runners Express, which owns the two cargo aircraft that hit each
other, issued a statement saying that controllers told both of the veteran
pilots to move on the intersecting taxiways where they collided. One pilot
was slightly injured in the resulting fireball.
The federal government has spent millions of dollars on ground radar systems
at Mitchell over the past 12 years, trying to prevent ground collisions
between planes and other vehicles. But the current $14.5 million system is
focused only on runways and isn't designed to prevent taxiway collisions, an
FAA spokeswoman said.
Besides, on a clear night such as Wednesday's, ground controllers would have
been watching the runways and taxiways through the control tower windows,
not looking at the radar screen, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, an FAA
spokeswoman in Des Plaines, Ill.
According to Cory, Freight Runners and Airport Director C. Barry Bateman,
the crash occurred after the two twin-engine propeller planes landed on
parallel runways shortly after 8 p.m. If fitted for passengers, the smaller
plane would seat 10; the larger one, 15.
The smaller plane, Freight Runners Flight 1539, a Cessna 402 piloted by
James Kremsreiter, arrived from Baraboo and landed on Mitchell's smaller
east-west runway. Kremsreiter then taxied around the terminal.
About the same time, the larger aircraft, Freight Runners Flight 1509, a
Beechcraft 99 piloted by Charley Stephenson, arrived from Stevens Point and
landed on the airport's main east-west runway. Then Stephenson turned off on
a taxiway.
They collided at the intersection of those two taxiways and a third taxiway.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. But Milwaukee-based
Freight Runners pinned the blame on controllers.
"Both aircraft were operating in controlled areas under explicit
instructions of air traffic control," the Freight Runners statement said.
"One aircraft was given instructions by (the tower) to exit a high-speed
taxiway, and the other aircraft was issued unrestricted clearance by (ground
control) to move on an adjoining taxiway.
"The aircraft collided where the taxiways intersected. Neither pilot was
notified by (air traffic control) of the impending conflict at the
intersection, which would have prevented this accident."
In an interview, Freight Runners General Manager Robert Sevier said the
pilots couldn't see each other because of "a blind spot" at the
intersection.
Cory and Bateman confirmed both aircraft were in contact with the tower.
But Cory said she and Freight Runners were prohibited from discussing the
possible cause of the accident by the rules of National Transportation
Safety Board investigations. The NTSB, however, has not formally decided
whether to launch an inquiry, said Keith Holloway, an NTSB spokesman in
Washington, D.C. If the NTSB does not step in, the FAA would run the
investigation.
As for Freight Runners' statement, Holloway said, "The NTSB does not jump to
conclusions so early."
Freight Runners said Kremsreiter has 48 years of experience and Stephenson
has 37 years of experience. Stephenson suffered minor burns to his hand,
scalp and face, the company said.
In the 1990s, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association voiced alarm
about several near-collisions on Mitchell's runways.
The airport wasn't in line for a top-of-the-line ground radar system, but
under pressure from the Wisconsin congressional delegation, the FAA agreed
to experiment with a system designed for maritime use. Mitchell became the
first U.S. airport to test that system and in 2003 was the first to install
the latest system.
Since Oct. 1, 2001, Mitchell has had 18 minor runway incidents, none posing
a serious risk of collision, among more than 1.5 million takeoffs and
landings, Cory said.
But the ground radar is intended to prevent collisions in poor visibility on
runways, where high-speed takeoffs and landings leave little room for error,
Cory said. It wasn't designed for taxiways crowded with slow-moving aircraft
and vehicles, she said.
"The thing would be going off all the time if you had it configured for the
taxiway," Cory said.
Wednesday's collision was the second runway accident at Mitchell in less
than a week. On Sunday, a Northwest Airlines DC-9 ran off the end of a
runway, slightly injuring one passenger.
But Bateman said the events were unrelated and not cause for concern.
"There's no trends here," Bateman said.
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