Improper handling of a VIP Boeing 737 carrying President Obama's wife, Michelle, into Andrews Air Force Base was the responsibility of a 21-year-old controller who had accumulated four previous operational errors. In a newly-released factual report on the 18 April operational error, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the controller violated at least two standard procedures for arrivals at the airport. After earlier co-ordination errors at the Potomac consolidated terminal radar approach control, the controller had been decertified but was re-certified after training. He had vectored Obama's 737 to the approach for runway 19L, behind a US Air Force Boeing C-17 transport. Designated as a 'heavy' aircraft, the C-17 requires separation of 5nm for in-trail aircraft the size of a 737. At its closest, the 737 was 2.8nm behind the C-17, says the NTSB.
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