Jet Pilot Averts Near Crash As Cessna Goes Wrong Way

The pilot of a USAir jet landing at Charlotte’s airport Wednesday was forced to pass below a small plane that blundered into its path, narrowly averting a collision less than 1,000 feet in the air.

A computer warning system aboard the DC-9 warned of the danger at the last minute, and air-traffic controllers ordered the pilot to make a sudden left turn and fly below the Cessna 182, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The two planes came within 60 yards of each other, the FAA said.

“It was close,” said Christy Williams, an FAA spokeswoman.

The Cessna’s pilot had been cleared for takeoff, but took off in the wrong direction, and fog prevented controllers at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport from spotting the danger.

“You couldn’t see past the terminal,” said controller Dale Wright.

The airport also lacks a ground radar that would have tracked the small plane’s wrong turn.

USAir Flight 365 from Washington, D.C., then landed safely at 10 a.m. after the pilot circled around the airport and landed normally.

The Cessna, registered to June B. Kangas Co. and Jeffrey P. Copeland Co. of Parker, Colo., continued to its destination in Kissimmee, Fla., where it was met by federal officials.