| 2006 O'Hare International Airport runway incursion | |
| Occurrence Type: | Incident |
| Type: | Runway incursion due to ATC error |
| Site: | O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Total Fatalities: | 0 |
| Total Injuries: | 0 |
| Total Survivors: | 131 |
| Plane1 Image: | United Airlines 737-300 (3441129529).jpg |
| Plane1 Image Upright: | 1.2 |
| Plane1 Caption: | N374UA, the aircraft similar to the one involved |
| Plane1 Type: | Boeing 737-322 |
| Plane1 Operator: | United Airlines |
| Plane1 Tailnum: | N315UA |
| Plane1 Origin: | O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Plane1 Destination: | Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Plane1 Passengers: | 120 |
| Plane1 Crew: | 7 |
| Plane1 Fatalities: | 0 |
| Plane1 Injuries: | 0 |
| Plane1 Survivors: | 127 |
| Plane2 Image: | Boeing 747-47UF(SCD), Atlas Air JP6686152.jpg |
| Plane2 Image Upright: | 1.2 |
| Plane2 Caption: | N418MC the second aircraft involved seen here in September 2009 |
| Plane2 Type: | Boeing 747-47UF |
| Plane2 Operator: | Atlas Air |
| Plane2 Tailnum: | N418MC |
| Plane2 Origin: | Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany |
| Plane2 Destination: | O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Plane2 Crew: | 4 |
| Plane2 Fatalities: | 0 |
| Plane2 Injuries: | 0 |
| Plane2 Survivors: | 4 |
| Iata: | UA1015 |
| Plane1 Icao: | UAL1015 |
| Plane1 Callsign: | UNITED 1015 |
| Plane1 Occupants: | 127 |
| Plane2 Iata: | 5Y6972 |
| Plane2 Icao: | GTI6972 |
| Plane2 Callsign: | GIANT 6972 |
| Plane2 Occupants: | 4 |
The 2006 O'Hare International Airport runway incursion was a near miss that occurred on July 23, 2006, when United Airlines Flight 1015, a Boeing 737-322, nearly collided with Atlas Air Flight 6972, a Boeing 747-47UF. UAL1015, bound for Denver International Airport, was carrying 120 passengers and 7 crew members whereas GTI6972, originating from Frankfurt Airport, Germany, was carrying 4 crew members only. The near miss occurred at the intersection of Runways 27L and 14R at O'Hare International Airport.[1]
The first aircraft involved in the near miss was a 19-year-old Boeing 737-322 with serial number 23947 and was registered as N315UA. It was manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in 1987 and was powered by two CFM International CFM56 engines.[2] [3] [4]
The second aircraft involved was a 4-year-old Boeing 747-47UF with serial number 32840 and was registered as N418MC. It was manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in 2002 and was powered by four General Electric CF6-80 engines.[5]
O'Hare International Airport was ranked as the sixth busiest airport globally. Due to this, the control tower was usually split into two or more positions to relieve stress and congestion. However, on the day of the incident, the North Local Control Tower (NLC) was closed. Therefore, the South Local Control Tower (SLC) was bearing all the responsibilities on their backs, including aircraft landing on Runway 14R and departing from Runway 27L. As a result, two additional controllers were required to assist the SLC.
The weather conditions were extremely favorable that day, with excellent visibility. At approximately 21:57:28 Central Time Zone, the flight crew of Atlas Air Flight 6972 established initial contact with the SLC tower to request permission to land on Runway 14R. The SLC clears the flight to land and advises them of another traffic departing on the same runway: United Airlines Flight 938. Approximately 22 seconds later, the SLC clears UAL938 for departure. At 21:57:20 CST, as UAL1015 is holding short on Runway 27L, the SLC instructs UAL1015 to line up and wait at the runway. Finally, at 22:00:22 CST, the crew of UAL1015 was cleared for takeoff on Runway 27L. Atlas Air Flight 6972 touches down at around the same time on Runway 14R. Everything runs smoothly for UAL1015 until the airframe reaches 110 knots. The pilots of UAL1015 noticed that the Boeing 747 was approaching the Runway 27L-14R intersection. They decided that they weren't going to abort the takeoff and soon, it became clear that they'll have to rotate above him. Ten knots prior to the Vr speed, the aircraft lifted off and overflew GTI6972 with only 35 feet to spare. Flight 6972 was completely on Runway 27L when the Boeing 737 was lifting off.[6]
According to the analysis, before United Airlines Flight 1015 was given permission for takeoff, the air traffic controller was facing a ton of distractions. When UAL1015 asked permission for takeoff, the SLC glanced out the window to Runway 14R and didn't spot an aircraft. Then he was verifying the distance of United Airlines Flight 938, the aircraft which departed Runway 14R, to ensure adequate wake turbulence separation. All of this was done in about 3-4 seconds.
After the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the South Local Control Tower's (SLC) failure to monitor Atlas Air Flight 6972 and United Airlines Flight 1015 caused a loss of separation between the two aircraft.