Pilots earn praise for averting near collision disaster at Midway Airport

CHICAGO (WGN) — The pilots of a Southwest Airlines plane who aborted a landing to avoid a potential collision with another aircraft have earned the praise of other commercial airline pilots and the president of the United States.

Southwest flight 2504 from Omaha was nearly wheels down at Midway International Airport shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday when a private business jet crossed its path. The Southwest pilots quickly aborted the landing and circled around.

“The Southwest flight did a phenomenal job of not only in seeing that ahead of time but then doing just a great, flawless go around,” commercial pilot Capt. Kevin Sprague told WGN. “I have not had one this close where I’m touching down and then an airplane is crossing in front of me. That’s close. That was a great save.”

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“Great job by the Southwest pilots in Chicago,” President Donald Trump wrote on social media. “A nearly tragic close call. Perhaps suspend the pilots license of the other plane, who must have been sleeping!”

Industry experts point to confusion heard on radio traffic from the pilots of the smaller FlexJet. Air traffic control told the pilots of the business jet to hold short of the runway, not to cross it.

“If I’m an airplane that’s told to hold short of a runway, that’s a mandatory read back for me. The tower has to hear that exact verbiage. They have to hear, ‘FlextJet 560 hold short of 3-1-Center,'” Sprague said.

The encounter became a topic of academic discussion at Lewis University during instruction for 850 undergraduate and graduate students who are studying for careers in the airline industry. Ryan Phillips, the chair of the university’s Aviation and Transportation Technology Department, the incident is a teachable moment.

“This is why it’s so important that you read those instructions back correctly, and if there’s any doubt in your mind on what you’re supposed to do, you need to ask for clarification,” he said. “The margin of error in aviation is tight. … You have to make sure that you’re bringing your best game every day.”

The union for the Southwest pilots released a statement, saying: “The pilots of @SouthwestAir are humble professionals who train for moments like these but never seek the spotlight. We are truly thankful for the support from our government partners, peers, and passengers.”