AVIATION/ TWO UNITED COMMUTER JETS IN NEAR COLLISION AT ORD

The FAA has opened a full investigation into an incident at Chicago OHare this past Monday in which 2 UNITED AIRLINES commuter jets were involved in a near collision, possibly due to an error by a new controller. The incident involved an EXPRESSJET airliner that was cleared for takeoff for Buffalo, New York, while a SKYWEST AIRLINES aircraft was coming in for a landing from Muskegon, Michigan, on another runway. It was not immediately known how close the 2 planes came within each other, however media reports said it was 300 feet. Officials said an automated spacing-detection monitor in the tower sounded an alert. When the alert sounded, a controller in the tower instructed the Pilots of the inbound SkyWest plane, descending toward runway 9 Right, to cut off the landing and go-around the Airport. The Skywest plane landed safely in its 2nd approach. The ExpressJet plane was departing runway 32 Left, which is near 9 Right. "The Skywest plane passed behind and above the departing Jetlink flight,'' an FAA spokesman said. Jetlink is the call sign used by ExpressJet. The controller error occurred shortly after Vice President Joe Biden's plane landed at OHare. Biden and his wife, Jill, were in Chicago to attend the inauguration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The Vice President's plane was not involved in the incident, officials said. But investigators are looking into the possibility that several factors related to Biden's arrival, landings and takeoffs were temporarily stopped when his plane touched down and a helicopter was hovering overhead, may have caused a distraction in the control tower.