The NTSB is investigating the “near collision” of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 and a Cessna 172 near the intersection of Runways 8 and 15 at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport in Southern California. The April 23, 2010, incident involved Southwest’s Flight 649, which was inbound from Oakland with 119 aboard and landing on Runway 8. At the same time, the Cessna was in the departure phase of a touch and go on the intersecting Runway 15. The Cessna overflew the landing 737, passing “within 200 feet vertically and 10 feet laterally” of the airliner as each crossed the runway intersection. The NTSB reported weather at the time of the incident was clear with visibility of 10 miles. There were no injuries associated with the incident.
The NTSB has dispatched an air traffic control specialist from Washington to Burbank to begin the investigation. Bob Hope airport saw average operations of about 300 per day over a 12-month period ending in November 2009. The mix was 60 percent commercial with the rest filled almost entirely by transient general aviation (21 percent), local general aviation (10 percent) and air taxi service (8 percent), according to AirNav.com.
