LOS ANGELES : Microphone Button Sticks, Forcing Pilot to Avert Crash
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A stuck microphone button contributed to an exciting moment for passengers aboard a United Airlines jetliner that was preparing to land Wednesday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Fred O’Donnell, an FAA spokesman, said that as United’s Flight 65 from Washington approached from the east, a stuck microphone button on another plane blanked out the radio frequency the United pilot was using to talk to air traffic controllers.
Seconds later, O’Donnell said, an automated radar system on the jetliner warned the pilot that the other plane--also unable to talk to controllers because of the stuck mike--was approaching on a collision course. The United pilot took evasive action, swerving to the right before making an otherwise normal landing.
Nervous passengers said the pilot explained over the intercom what had happened. There were no reports of injury.
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