munitalP
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US air traffic safety officials have revealed that a China-bound passenger jet carrying 268 people nearly collided with a small plane shortly after taking off from San Francisco on the weekend.
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator was on his way to the California city to figure out how the two aircraft came within 60 to 90 metres of a mid-air disaster.
United Airlines flight 889, a Boeing 777-222, took off from San Francisco International Airport about 11:15am on Saturday carrying 251 passengers and 17 crew, according to the NTSB.
The jet had climbed to an altitude of about 1100 feet (335 metres) when a collision warning alarm sounded and pilots saw a small Aeronca 11AC private plane turning hard, safety officials said.
The Boeing's traffic collision avoidance system "issued an 'ADJUST VERTICAL SPEED' alert, followed by a "DESCEND, DESCEND" alert," the NTSB said in a statement.
The pilots quickly levelled off the jet and saw the belly of the propeller-powered plane pass over them, according to the safety board.
The aircraft missed each other by 200 to 300 feet (61 to 91 metres), initial reports estimated.
The jet pilots alerted air traffic control and then continued to Beijing without further incident.
US air traffic safety officials have revealed that a China-bound passenger jet carrying 268 people nearly collided with a small plane shortly after taking off from San Francisco on the weekend.
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator was on his way to the California city to figure out how the two aircraft came within 60 to 90 metres of a mid-air disaster.
United Airlines flight 889, a Boeing 777-222, took off from San Francisco International Airport about 11:15am on Saturday carrying 251 passengers and 17 crew, according to the NTSB.
The jet had climbed to an altitude of about 1100 feet (335 metres) when a collision warning alarm sounded and pilots saw a small Aeronca 11AC private plane turning hard, safety officials said.
The Boeing's traffic collision avoidance system "issued an 'ADJUST VERTICAL SPEED' alert, followed by a "DESCEND, DESCEND" alert," the NTSB said in a statement.
The pilots quickly levelled off the jet and saw the belly of the propeller-powered plane pass over them, according to the safety board.
The aircraft missed each other by 200 to 300 feet (61 to 91 metres), initial reports estimated.
The jet pilots alerted air traffic control and then continued to Beijing without further incident.
