Serious incident Boeing 747-136 G-AWNM,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 359295
 
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Date:Saturday 25 February 1995
Time:20:25 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic B741 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 747-136
Owner/operator:British Airways
Registration: G-AWNM
MSN: 20708/210
Engine model:P&W JT9D-7A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 357
Aircraft damage: None
Category:Serious incident
Location:Chicago, IL -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Unknown
Departure airport:
Destination airport:(KLHR)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) FLIGHT 296 WAS CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF ON RUNWAY 32R WITH A RIGHT TURN TO A HEADING OF 070 DEGREES. UNITED AIRLINES (UA) FLIGHT 243 WAS CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF ON RUNWAY 4L WITH A LEFT TURN TO A HEADING OF 320 DEGREES, 49 SECONDS LATER. THE NORTH LOCAL CONTROLLER AT THE CHICAGO O'HARE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER (ATCT) ISSUED SEVERAL HEADING AND ALTITUDE CHANGES TO UA FLIGHT 243 UNTIL THE COURSES OF THE TWO AIRPLANES DIVERGED. THE MINIMUM LATERAL SEPARATION REQUIRED BETWEEN TWO HEAVY AIRPLANES IN THE CHICAGO TERMINAL AREA IS FOUR MILES. THE PILOT OF UA FLIGHT 243 ESTIMATED THE MINIMUM SEPARATION BETWEEN THE TWO AIRPLANES WAS 300 FEET VERTICALLY AND ONE MILE HORIZONTALLY. THE ATCT WAS STAFFED WITH TWO LOCAL CONTROLLERS, A RELIEVING NORTH LOCAL CONTROLLER, A LOCAL CONTROL MONITOR, AN AREA SUPERVISOR, AND AN AREA MANAGER. THE TRAFFIC WAS DESCRIBED AS 'FAIRLY BUSY' AND THE CONFIGURATION AS 'COMPLEX' BUT NOT ABNORMAL FOR THE O'HARE ATCT.

Probable Cause: the North Local Controller's failure to issue a clearance which would ensure separation between the two airplanes and the North Local Control Monitor's failure to adequately back up the controller. Factors were the complexity of the airport operations and task overload of the North Local Controller.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CHI95IA095
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 10 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB CHI95IA095

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
15-Mar-2024 09:02 ASN Update Bot Added

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