Tower, “We Need to Talk”

On Saturday, the crew of United Flight 889, a Boeing 777 with 251 passengers and 17 crew, reported they came within 300 feet of an Aeronca Chief while on initial climbout from San Francisco International. As the airliner took off, the tower controller warned the pilot of the Chief, who reported having the 777 in sight, to get behind the airliner. The encounter set off the TCAS in the 777, and the crew was clearly not amused. The exchange is in the same order, but we’ve edited out extraneous transmissions and gaps.