"FAA investigates stray trucks at O'Hare"

Friday, July 9, 2004

FAA investigates stray trucks at O'Hare
The Associated Press


CHICAGO - The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an
investigation into how two city trucks were able to stray onto a runway
at O'Hare International Airport, forcing two planes to abort landings.

On June 27, the Chicago Department of Aviation pickup trucks came within
3,000 feet of a Northwest Airlines DC-9 passenger jet and a Polar Air
Cargo 747 plane, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said Wednesday.

Radar tapes showed the aircraft were traveling about 160 mph at
altitudes of 200 to 300 feet when the pilots noticed the yellow city
trucks on the runway, officials said.

The trucks swerved onto the grass and the pilots used an emergency
maneuver called a go-around to avoid them, officials said.

City aviation officials identified the two drivers as a 10-year veteran
of the department and an employee who worked eight years as a seasonal
driver before being hired full time in April.

Chicago police ticketed both drivers for failure to yield right of way
to aircraft, and their driving privileges on the airfield were revoked,
aviation spokeswoman Annette Martinez said.


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