WASHINGTON —An air-traffic controller who nearly caused a midair collision last year has again been relieved of duty after putting two planes on converging courses.
Shortly after beginning the 7 p.m. work shift at the Federal Aviation Administration radar facility at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi on Feb. 29, controller Robert Beck ordered an Air Force C-130 turboprop to increase its altitude from 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet and to adjust its heading. That put the jet on a converging course with a twin-engine turboprop owned by the Department of Homeland Security, according to an FAA employee with knowledge of the incident.
The controller whom Beck had relieved was still in the radar room, noticed the mistake and alerted Beck so he was able to separate the planes, said the employee with knowledge of the incident.
The employee wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and commented only on condition of not being named. An FAA report on the incident, released Friday in response to an Associated Press request under the Freedom of Information Act, confirms most of the details, although it doesn’t name the controller involved.
An FAA analysis of radar data shows the planes came within 2.59 miles laterally and 300 feet vertically of each other. Regulations require a minimum separation
of 3 miles laterally or 1,000 feet vertically.
The controller has been removed from directing air traffic and is “currently assigned to administrative duties,” the FAA said in a statement.
Ralph Humphrey, Beck’s former boss, said he tried repeatedly last year to get the controller fired, but FAA officials in Washington ignored his requests. One reason is that union officials exploit complex employee protection rules even when controllers are unfit, Humphrey said.
Efforts to obtain comment from the controllers association were not successful.
