Planes Fly Too Close In 2 Reported Incidents in Chicago

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On Thursday, two air traffic controllers at the FAA's Chicago Center radar facility in Aurora directed an American Airlines MD-80 jet traveling east from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to descend from 29,600 feet to 29,000 feet. However, the pilot did not follow the instructions, according a statement from FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.

"The controller did not realize that the pilot was not following the instruction," according to the statement.

A regional jet traveling northwest at 30,000 feet to Milwaukee came within 4.16 miles of the MD-80 near Goshen, Ind., but the planes had already passed each other when they reached the close distance, Molinaro said.

In another incident, also reported Friday, two Boeing 757s, one operated by American Airlines and another operated by United Airlines, were 2.8 miles apart as they prepared to land one after the other Thursday at O'Hare as directed by controllers at FAA's Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Elgin. The standard distance is generally four miles, according to David Stock, president of approach control.
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