Aviation Officials Attribute Shanghai Airport Near-Collision to Traffic Controller Error

(Beijing) — China's top aviation authority has said that air traffic controller error was the cause of a runway scare that saw two China Eastern Airlines planes nearly collide at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Tuesday.

In a brief statement released Wednesday afternoon, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said that the conclusion was based on preliminary interviews with the pilots of the two planes, communications between the pilots and air traffic control officials, radar data, and information from flight data recorders.