NO NEAR MISS FOR STEALTH, FAA SAYS SEPT. 7 INCIDENT LABELED 'NO HAZARD'.Byline: Daily News PALMDALE - A Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control investigation concluded a Palmdale-based F-117 stealth fighter never came too close to a United Airlines jet taking off from Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX . The pilots of both airplanes had one another in sight during the Sept. 7 incident and came no closer than a half-mile horizontally and 500 feet vertically - the minimum separation required by FAA regulations, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the report, which labeled the incident ``no hazard.'' ``It was within the limit, but right on the limit,'' FAA spokesman Jerry Synder said Tuesday. United Airlines Flight 174, bound for Boston with 166 passengers and seven crew members, took off from LAX at 8:38 a.m. Sept. 7. Five minutes later, the crew radioed FAA air traffic controllers in Palmdale to report it was descending descending /des·cend·ing/ (de-send´ing) extending inferiorly. after receiving a radar warning of an approaching plane. The pilot never filed a formal report after landing, but FAA officials conducted an investigation because the incident involved a stealth fighter, Snyder said. ``The only reason we followed through on this is because of the oddity odd·i·ty n. pl. odd·i·ties 1. One that is odd. 2. The state or quality of being odd; strangeness. oddity Noun pl -ties 1. ,'' Snyder said. Before the United plane landed, the news media had been alerted by a tip from another pilot who heard the radio conversation between the United crew and air traffic controllers. The FAA report said the United Airlines plane picked up the stealth fighter on radar when it was about 11.5 miles away. The Air Force said the plane, flying out of U.S. Air Force Plant 42 on a training mission, was not in stealth configuration. The United co-pilot had the F-117 in sight when a radar alarm went off, advising the United plane to descend de·scend v. de·scend·ed, de·scend·ing, de·scends v.intr. 1. To move from a higher to a lower place; come or go down. 2. , the report said. The United pilot throttled back to level off. Because the stealth pilot was flying according to visual flight rules “VFR” redirects here. For other uses, see VFR (disambiguation). Visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of aviation regulations under which a pilot may operate an aircraft in weather conditions sufficient to allow the pilot, by visual reference to the environment - under which pilots keep a visual watch for other planes - he was not under the direction of air traffic controllers, the report said. ``The investigation shows that pilots from both aircraft had visual contact and were maintaining visual separation,'' the report said. |
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