Airliner Passengers Injured After TCAS Alert
At 31,000 feet, a United flight crew responded to a collision warning.
A TCAS resolution advisory led to a maneuver that injured two United Airlines passengers.
CNN reported yesterday (Sept. 24) that the FAA was investigating an incident involving passenger injuries resulting from a midair collision warning. UAL Flight 2428 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport responded to a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) resolution advisory (RA) and “slowed its descent to account for another aircraft at a lower altitude,” according to the FAA.
The incident occurred at 31,000 feet and about 70 miles north of San Francisco, CNN said, citing data from FlightRadar24. The aviation traffic reporting website also noted a Southwest Airlines flight about 3,000 feet below UAL 2428, and a SkyWest flight 1,000 feet below the United flight.
In a statement, the FAA said there was no loss of safe separation. According to the CNN report, the seatbelt sign was on, but one of the United passengers was not in their seat. Both injured passengers were taken to the hospital after landing, with one reportedly suffering serious injuries.
The CNN story includes a reference to a LiveATC recording in which one of the United pilots told air traffic control, “Someone might have broken an ankle and there’s passengers that got hurt when we had an RA.”
