US

Quick-Thinking Air Traffic Controller Prevents Disaster at Boston Airport

BOSTON (AP) — A quick-thinking air traffic controller at Boston’s Logan International Airport urgently told a JetBlue flight to “hold” just before it entered a runway where another plane was about to take off.

JetBlue Airways Corp. says Flight 1264 arriving from Austin, Texas on Nov. 24 with 91 passengers landed safely, but while taxiing to the gate the pilot inadvertently took a right instead of turning left.

In audio obtained by WFXT-TV, the air traffic controller can be heard saying “JetBlue hold, JetBlue 1264 hold right there. JetBlue 1264, hold, hold.” Ground radar images show the plane stopping just short of the runway where the other plane was speeding to take off.

Matt McCluskey, president of the Boston air traffic controllers union, says the controller is a 32-year veteran who made “a great save.”

Comments (53)

  • Dianne SZ
    Posted on December 9, 2010 at 11:20am

    I am a private pilot and if you listen to the air traffic controllers voice and watch the digitalizationof the aircrafts movement, you will see that the pilot made no error. The error was on the part of ground controls verbal direction. This is a non-newsworthy, non-event as pilots always look both ways before crossing the street.

    Report Post »  
  • bz0fgf
    Posted on December 8, 2010 at 2:25pm

    This story should not have been aired. I‘m sure Obama will find a way to add more regulations to ’stop’ this close call from ever happening again.

    Report Post » bz0fgf  
  • CruzerDog
    Posted on December 8, 2010 at 9:10am

    Flying is easy. Get on the ground and try and figure out the signs and noise from the controllers. Its more dangerous on the ground at the airport than in the air.

    Report Post » CruzerDog  
  • BJAlexandria
    Posted on December 8, 2010 at 4:38am

    News Flash – 1) the female newscaster asks, “Do you think the FAA will get involved in this?” DUH – who does she think the air traffic controller works for? 2) These ground excursions occur pretty routinely, all are recorded and evaluated to determine cause and correction. 3) Someone up there ^^^commends Reagan for getting rid of the “dead weight” controllers. This controller, it’s reported by NATCA, has 33 years of services so he/she probably was a controller under Reagan and a member of the former union (PATCO). This controller did a good thing — however, suffice it to say, that’s his/her job. I‘m just sayin’.

    Report Post »  
  • George Washington
    Posted on December 8, 2010 at 1:06am

    I am glad to see that someone is doing his job. I still cannot fathom the idea that so many runway collisions were allowed to happen in the past. The other controllers should take a lesson from this controller. Bravo and thank you for keeping the passengers and crews safe. Keep up the great work.

    Report Post »  
  • dontbotherme
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 8:54pm

    I was landing a Piper Tomahawk (2 seater) a few years back. Air traffic controller gave me landing instructions…I landed on 36 as told. Another controller gave a much larger plane instructions to land on the same runway (I have no idea what type of plane it was because I couldn’t see behind me) .. air traffic screamed at me, “3 7 Tango take immediate right NOW!!”. I hit a hard right rudder, pivoted … got out of the way just in time to see this huge beastie hit it hard & do a go around. I immediately switched to ground control & asked to taxi to hanger. They informed me that Air Traffic Controller thanked me for reacting so quickly. I think I was shaking for about an hour after I stumbled out of my plane to a standing ovation from my fellow pilots. It’s not always the pilots fault. That being said, I do know my right from my left.

    Report Post »  
  • KEA
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 7:16pm

    Do I have this right? The Air Traffic controler is being praised for a great save? He is also responsible for the taxi instructions and is suppose to monitor that, which clearly he FAILED to notice the left turn taken that lead to this problem. How does that make him a hero?

    Report Post »  
  • inferno
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 6:50pm

    One must wonder who told him which way to turn. Did he turn as was told, or should he have been told to turn the other way, if there was another way.

    Report Post »  
  • TEXASQUINN
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:27pm

    I am going to be a little sarcastic here, isnt that their job? ” Quick Thinking Fireman, Sees Flames and Puts Out Fire!” I may be being a little unfair, seeing how I only fly in the right seat here and there in my boss’s Bonanza. If not the ATC who is supposed to look out for those kinds of problems? Regardless the controller did a good job, averting a potential catastrophe!

    Report Post »  
  • M31Sailor
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:04pm

    Two Jet Blue pilots go to Vermont to go Bear hunting

    They come to a sign in the road that says “Bear Left”

    So they went home

    Report Post » M31Sailor  
    • heavyduty
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:12pm

      Good one Sailor, did you ever get your hacker taken care of. Haven’t seen him on here for a while.

      Report Post »  
    • M31Sailor
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:22pm

      Talked to Rebecca at the Blaze. She said there was little they could do But I‘m sure whoever I P’D off will be back. If there’s no picture of my boat, It’s not me. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

      Sailor

      Report Post » M31Sailor  
    • dontbotherme
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 8:56pm

      Love the joke! :D

      Report Post »  
  • WINGWRENCH
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:47am

    He was told to taxi via 22 right he instead taxied on 4 left, stupid pilot trick. Hats off to the controller.

    Report Post »  
    • Hugh Akston
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:58am

      Finally, someone with the right answer! Thank you. He was told to turn on 22R and taxi to Charlie. From where this plane was, a turn onto 22R IS a LEFT turn. The crew went to sleep after it landed, apparently.

      Report Post »  
  • Paul G
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:29am

    “Did he mean my left, or his left?”

    Report Post »  
    • BlazingPatriot
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 3:15pm

      1 “right turn” takes you right …..3 “left turns” also take you right ……..Right?

      Report Post » BlazingPatriot  
  • hauschild
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:43am

    Doesn’t a story like this make you throw up in your mouth when you think of what is coming down the pike in America? Socialism basically means you’re gonna have unqualified people performing a lot of important jobs. There will be fewer guys like this and fewer guys like “Sully” flying the planes. No “creme” will be “rising to the top”. Good thing I’ll be 6 feet under before most of the damage kicks in.

    Report Post »  
  • Jack H
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:30am

    Add your comments

    Report Post » Jack H  
  • senah
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:16am

    Pilot to co-pilot: I’m suppose to turn left right here?
    Co-pilot to pilot: Right

    Report Post »  
  • Richio
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:11am

    hay-foot, straw-foot.

    How about crossing gates? …like at RR crossings..

    Report Post »  
  • youguysready_letsroll
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:53am

    They need to redesign airports so there is no traffic on the ground crossing runways like that. Maybe in-bound flights on a runway on one side of the airport and out-going flights on their own runway on the other side all without the criss-crossing. Or do they do that already?

    Report Post » youguysready_letsroll  
    • OldFlyGuy
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 1:08pm

      It would be virtually impossible to design a practical airport without taxiways that cross runways. Below is a link to the airport diagram for the Boston Logan airport if anyone is interested in seeing what it looks like. BOS is simple compared to others such as Chicago O’Hare or Los Angeles International.

      http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1012/00058AD.PDF

      Report Post »  
  • Santi
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:43am

    GOD works in miserious ways. I know when I fly, from the time we start down the run way until I am getting off the air plane, I am praying for all of us to get there safely. Passengers must have been praying. Thank GOD for there safety.

    Report Post »  
    • bookofwisdom
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:42am

      Amen. Those passengers probably don’t even know their lives were saved. That man needs a reward. May God Bless.

      Report Post » bookofwisdom  
  • Derfel Cadarn
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:41am

    Controller was just doing their job what about this is news worthy.

    Report Post »  
    • ozchambers
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:07am

      I’m not dissing this guy, he did well and lives were saved. But I’m thinking the same thing. Isn’t this his job? Next story: quick thinking traffic cop at broken traffic light prevents disaster by motioning for school bus to stop.

      Report Post » ozchambers  
    • J.C. McGlynn
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:46am

      The fact that two planes didn’t collide in the middle of the runway killing hundreds of people might have something to do with it.

      Report Post » J.C. McGlynn  
  • M31Sailor
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:28am

    No copilot to remind this Captain which way was Left?

    Report Post » M31Sailor  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:32am

      Maybe he thought it was his “other” left. Morning, M31SAILOR, hope you’re having a good morning.

      Report Post »  
    • M31Sailor
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:43am

      Good morning Grandma

      Your’s was my first thought. Pretty nippy here in CT. I wonder if anyone on those flight’s even knew how close they came to meeting their maker. This Controller should be getting some nice cards, gifts, or at least a Thanks
      Hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas Season , these passengers will by this Guy/Girl action

      Sailor

      Report Post » M31Sailor  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:52am

      If they don’t, and they are smart enough to keep up on The Blaze, they know now. This ranks up there with Capt. Sully and this guy should get some recognition for being a hero. Thanks for the Christmas wishes and the same to you and yours. Hard to believe the year is almost over, but I think (or hope) we have made strides in saving our country. Did you watch the CMA last night? So nice to only hear patriotic references and not an agenda for the left. I just love being a “redneck” (in spirit).

      Report Post »  
    • M31Sailor
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:11am

      Didn’t watch the CMA. But did catch the dig on CRAP Music. My Patriots were kicking Jet butt

      Sailor

      Report Post » M31Sailor  
  • WBOPP
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:22am

    Can we get this guy to call Bernanke.

    Report Post »  
  • randy
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:21am

    That pilot needs a few days off to think about his F@#$ up

    Report Post » randy  
    • knotaclu
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:19am

      Where is Sully when ya need him…..

      Report Post »  
    • mcrah
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:52am

      Did nobody hear the Air traffic controller tell the pilot to ‘…Taxi via 22 RIGHT…’? (about 46 seconds in the vid)

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:21am

      I heard that too .. seems another airtraffic controller told them right….. good save by the other controller.

      Report Post »  
    • John0397
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:22pm

      The pilot was supposed to turn left, taxi to the gate via runway 22R or 22 right. There are two runways with headings or 220 degrees if going southwest or 130 if going northeast. One is designated 22L or 22 left and the other is 22R or 22 right.

      Report Post » John0397  
    • John0397
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:28pm

      whoopsie, runway 4 not 13, sorry turned 90 and not 180…. Hey, i might get a job with JetBlue :)

      Report Post » John0397  
  • GeauxAlready
    Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:20am

    Must have been a woman pilot………..

    SpankDaMonkey  
    • RightUnite
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:22am

      Would you like to put a wager on that? He probably stopped what he was doing to ask for directions… Oh wait!!! Probably not, huh??

      Report Post »  
    • MAULEMALL
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 9:39am

      Thank you Ronald Reagan…

      You got rid of the dead weight to hire this guy..

      Report Post » MAULEMALL  
    • TENJAX
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:11am

      With all of the technology available and at low cost, the FAA simply will not make it cheap to put moving maps in the flight deck of our planes. Your tom tom or Garmin have better situational awareness than the paper charts that we still carry. That and the continuing pilot fatugue problem, than god this was averted. Please do not be sexist even in jest, would you ask if the pilot was black? Makes no difference. Pilots are very well trained professionals and should be treated as such.

      Report Post »  
    • Jack H
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:30am

      TENJAX
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:11am

      Any what makes you think the pilot wouldn’t ignore his “tom-tom”? Before making “pilot fatigue” comments, lets get the facts.

      Report Post » Jack H  
    • G.W. Dobbs
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 10:43am

      Not to worry about Criminally Minded doing the WRONG TURN intentionally; they won’t
      unless they expect 72 Virgins for themselves in Paradise. I wonder how they settled on
      SEVENTY-TWO virgins? Why not 100?

      Report Post »  
    • NapoHill15
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 11:32am

      Has any one man ever been in a room with seventy two women all wanting the same thing . . . ?

      And then, virgins, by their nature, they are only virgins but once . . . What happens when you run out of virgins? Certainly the promise of seventy two virgins is far over rated as it is an illusion of momentary gains for an eternity of constant bickering, of old and aging bitter hags that cannot be satisfied. It sounds more like a prison sentence . . . and of the worst kind.

      Report Post »  
    • snowleopard3200 {mix art}
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:27pm

      @Geaux

      About the woman quip, remember there was a flight out of Hawaii that had a good portion of the cabin roof blow off due to structure fatigue and the woman piolet brought it home safely; to this day all of the male piolets who have years more experience than her at the time still cannot pull off the return and landing she managed to do.

      http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • threedoor
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:44pm

      “Female” not woman, you wouldn’t say “Man pilot” would you? One of my major pet peeves.

      Report Post » threedoor  
    • OldFlyGuy
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 12:50pm

      Kudos to the controller but I seriously doubt that there would have been an issue with a runway incursion. Taxi clearances changed June 2010 to prevent just this kind of problem. Previously “Taxi To” instructions implicitly cleared an aircraft to cross any runways enroute to their cleared desination unless specifically told to hold short. Unfortunately this sometimes resulted in misunderstandings and incursions. The new procedures requires explicit clearances for each runway to be crossed and the pilot must repeat the clearance back to the controller just as was done in this clip. While mistakes can happen I believe that there is very little doubt that the pilot would have stopped short of 33L on his own and asked ground control for instructions since he had no clearance to cross the runway. While airport taxiways can be confusing sometimes, even for the pros, signage for a runway is white characters on a red background and is pretty darn hard to miss.

      Report Post »  
    • nhall729
      Posted on December 7, 2010 at 7:39pm

      GeauxAlready, stop trolling on theblaze.com. Is it just me, or is theblaze Comments completely infested with people trying to portray it’s readers as racist and sexist hate-mongers?

      Report Post »  

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