WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Air traffic controllers mistakenly told the pilot of a plane carrying US first lady Michelle Obama this week he was further away from a nearby military cargo jet than he actually was, according to a report issued on Friday.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report provided new details on Monday’s incident near Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. The incident led to more criticism of US air traffic controllers following disclosures in recent weeks that several had fallen asleep on the job.
Air traffic controllers at the Maryland base told the pilot of the government Boeing 737 carrying the first lady that he was 4 miles from a giant Air Force C-17 cargo when he was in fact 3 miles away, the NTSB report found.
The report said the controllers then instructed the pilot of the first lady’s plane to do a manoeuver that actually brought the Boeing 737 closer to the C-17, not further away from it. The report said the first lady’s plane came as close as 2.94 miles to the cargo plane, slightly closer than the 3 miles previously acknowledged by officials.
Michellle Obama’s plane also was carrying Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, on a trip from New York.
The plane was forced to abandon a landing approach outside Washington to avoid the C-17, one of the largest planes in the skies. The C-17 was also heading to Andrews. Both planes landed safely without incident.
