Plane with first lady aboard aborts landing
Air traffic controller placed two aircraft too close together
WASHINGTON – A plane carrying first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden had to abort a landing at Andrews Air Force Base because an error by an air traffic controller allowed it to draw too close to a military cargo plane landing ahead of it, a federal aviation official said Tuesday evening.
The Federal Aviation Administration said neither plane was in danger during the incident Monday.
Obama and Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, were returning from New York City aboard a Boeing C-40, akin to a 737, on Monday afternoon when their plane neared the base behind a C-17 cargo plane. Both aircraft had been under the direction of air traffic controllers in Warrenton, Va., said an FAA official.
The safety standards for landing a C-17 require there be at least five miles of separation from lighter aircraft following behind, the official said, because the heavier C-17 can cause turbulence that can disrupt the maneuverability of a plane following too closely.
When controllers at Andrews took over, they discovered the two aircraft were too close together – just three miles apart – and asked the pilots flying Obama’s airplane to try to create a bigger gap by making gentle, S-shaped curves, the FAA official said. That didn’t produce the necessary spacing, so controllers instructed the pilots to do a “go-around” – circle the base to delay its landing.
“They’re an accepted, recognized procedure that’s available to controllers and pilots,” the official said. “A controller got these two planes closer than they should have been, but at no time were they in danger of crashing.”
Asked how common such episodes are, an Air Force public affairs official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “It happens all the time on commercial airports.”
While both planes landed safely, the incident is considered an operational error by the Warrenton controller and a non-punitive report will be filed while an investigation is completed, the FAA official said. No one has been disciplined, the official said.