When ATC Screws Up

摘要

On December 16, 2016, shortly after takeoff at 0119 local time, an EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER apparently came well within 1000 vertical feet of mountainous terrain after departing the Los Angeles (Calif.) International Airport (KLAX). While a formal investigation reportedly is underway at the FAA and the carrier, unofficial transcripts and aircraft tracking data make it clear this event was a very near thing. The publicly available information depicts confusion and uncertainty in the 777's cockpit. It also suggests non-standard phraseology on ATC's part may have contributed to the event. The sidebar on the opposite page explores it a bit more, based on unoffocial sources.