A White House plane with Michelle Obama on board could have been seconds from disaster after it came dangerously close to a massive 200-ton military cargo jet, it was revealed last night.\nThe close shave forced the First Lady\u2019s plane to abort its landing at Andrews Air Force base just outside Washington.
\nExperts claimed last night the two planes were seconds apart as they tailed one another on the final approach because of a blunder by an air traffic controller.
\nIt’s the latest in a series of mistakes to hit the beleaguered FAA, after five air traffic controllers were found to have fallen asleep on the job and another was suspended for watching fa film while on duty.
\nThe controversy grew so bad even the president commented on it last week, after a chorus of FAA spokesmen gave interviews saying they were taking action. Mr Obama told ABC News: ‘We’ve got it under control.’
\nThe near-miss came as Mrs Obama returned from a series of television appearances in New York with the Vice President\u2019s wife, Jill Biden, on Monday evening.
\nBoth women were travelling on the Boeing 737, part of the Air National Guard fleet, when the pilot was ordered to take evasive action and try to slow down as it approached runway 19 just before 5pm.
\nThey were only three miles apart as they came into land, but Federal Aviation Authority regulations maintain there should be a safe distance of at least five miles.
\nThe pilot of the presidential plane – designated EXEC1F, a classification for flights carrying member’s of the president’s family – was told to execute a series of S-turns to create a safe cushion between it and the C-17 cargo carrier.
\nWhen those manoeuvres failed to make a big enough gap, military controllers realised the military jet wouldn\u2019t have enough time to get off the runway before Mrs Obama\u2019s plan touched down.
\nAviation analysts claimed last night if the 737 had been allowed to land as scheduled, the C-17 – which landed first – would have had less than 30 seconds to get out of the way.
\nInstead, the pilot was told to pull out and circle the airport, in a Maryland suburb of Washington, performing a ‘go-around’, until the approach was clear.
\nThe White House confirmed the incident last night, but said Mrs Obama and her entourage were not troubled by it.
\nShe had been in New York to appear on a number of television shows, including The View, the Gayle King show and Sesame Street.
\nA spokesman said the pilot himself noticed the runway was too crowded and decided to go around again before trying to land.
\nThe FAA launched a probe into the incident last night after it was revealed in the Washington Post, saying the plane ‘did not have the required amount of separation behind a military C-17’.
\nBut a spokesman insisted: \u2018The aircraft were never in any danger.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"