AVIATION/ FAA PROBES CLOSE CALL NEAR DENVER

The FAA has launched an investigation into a close call with 2 aircraft near Denver, Colorado, on November 23. The FAA has rated the incident as an operational error made by ATC. On November 23, REPUBLIC AIRLINES Flight 1539 was on Domestic ERJ190 Service from Omaha, Nebraska, to Denver, and on approach to Denver at 19000 feet, when the incident began. Flight 1539 was 6 miles S of, and parallel to, Denver's Sayge Six Arrival, and close to waypoint SAYGE, when ATC intended the ERJ join the standard arrival route. ATC cleared the flight direct to SAGYE, thinking that the aircraft would turn right about 30-45 degrees and join the center line of arrival. The Captain questioned ATC, but ATC repeated the same instructions. The crew, who had already passed abeam the waypoint, and as noted above, were 6 miles S of SAYGE, turned towards SAYGE in a 120-130 degree right turn. At the very same time this occurred, SKYWEST AIRLINES Flight 6764, a CRJ200 on Domestic Service from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Denver, was already tracking the Sayge Six Arrival at 19000 feet, and was approaching the SAYGE waypoint at 250knots. Both aircraft received TCAS Alerts, and the Skywest CRJ climbed, while the Republic ERJ descended. A nearby FRONTIER AIRLINES A319 also came below seperations minimums, but did not received a TCAS Alert. In its statement announcing the invesitgation, the FAA said that it had not yet established how close the 2 aircraft came to colliding.