Federal safety officials on Friday opened an investigation into the near-collision of a commercial jetliner and a small private plane at the intersection of two runways at Bob Hope Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in an advisory that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 carrying 124 passengers and crew from Oakland came within 200 feet of a Cessna 172 while landing on Runway 8 of the airport.
The private plane at about 11 a.m. Monday was executing a “touch and go,” a practice maneuver in which an aircraft lands briefly on the runway before accelerating and becoming airborne again.
