Sat, Aug 28, 2004
VP Cheney's Gulfstream's TCAS sounds alarm, misses other
aircraft by less than half a mile
Air Force Two, the US Air Force aircraft carrying Vice President
Dick Cheney, was involved in a near miss with a civilian aircraft
over the skies of Connecticut a few weeks ago, according to federal
officials. The commander of the aircraft was forced to take evasive
action after the TCAS system sounded the alarm and commanded a
climb to avoid another aircraft. They missed each other by 0.44
horizontally and some 700 feet vertically.
The Vice President was headed to Westchester County Airport in
White Plains (NY) on August 7 when the incident took place. Air
Force 2 was on a descent from 11,000 to 6,000 feet on approach to
the airport. The second aircraft was headed in the opposite
direction, east, at 7.300 fet. The controller, a supervisor who had
been called in to work overtime, was sitting next to another
controller while he worked the traffic. The second controller
pointed out the other airplane when Air Force Two reached 8,500
feet, and yelled "Traffic for Air Force Two," according to Dean
Iacopelly, the local NATCA chapter president.
Controllers at the NY
TRACON in Westbury made a point of informing the media that the
controller put in charge of Air Force Two was a supervisor working
overtime. They claim that the incident shows that the facility is
understaffed and that the FAA is to blame. According to the
controllers, the TRACON is authorized for 270 controllers but
currently has a staff of only 207.
According to Iacopelli, the supervisors only have to work aircraft
eight hours each month to remain current. "They only dabble in it,"
he said. "There is a real staffing crisis here."
However, the FAA denies that there is a crisis. "We use overtime to
meet staffing needs, particularly in the summer so controllers can
take vacation," said FAA spokesperson Arlene Salac. She added that
the FAA is in the middle of a staffing study that analyzes the
needs of ATC centers across the country.
According to Salac, the supervisor was not at fault. The two
aircraft were flying in an airspace where separation rules are not
applied and pilots are expected to exercise visual scans. Air Force
Two was, at the time, trying to avoid an unidentified aircraft that
was not talking to ATC. "The Air Force Two pilot and the controller
had the traffic in sight at all times," Salac said.
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