CHICAGO, July 8 (UPI) -- The FAA is looking into two close calls at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in which trucks on the runway caused two planes to abort landings.
The incidents occurred last week, June 27, within minutes of each other, the Chicago Tribune said Thursday. There were no injuries but some scary moments.
In the first incident, the truck driver pulled onto the runway and turned in the direction of an incoming Northwest Airlines DC-9 from Minneapolis. The driver steered onto the grass as the pilot banked the jetliner to climb to avoid a collision.
Four minutes later, a second truck driver crossed the same runway as a Boeing 747 freighter was about to land. Again, the driver pulled off into the grass while the pilot gunned the plane in an emergency go-around maneuver.
The drivers, who have good records, were suspended. A spokesman said they likely would be retrained.
