The two airlines involved also firmly denied that anything unusual had happened. The controllers struck back, releasing tapes of the tower communications, and within two days the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was launching an investigation. NTSB only does this if there's evidence that a serious incident has occurred. (It should be noted that in the past few months, the Feds have looked into the go-around procedures at several airports with intersecting runways, including Newark and Detroit, and have concluded that there is no danger to the public.)

So what should travelers make of this? For one, each party involved acted predictably. When a near-miss occurs, controllers usually call in the media, which, in turn, supports their case that the system is dangerously understaffed. The FAA then accuses the controllers of stoking public fears as a bargaining ploy for better pay. The airlines tend to wish it would all go away--it's not exactly good for business. So we should be thankful that the NTSB, an independent agency that lacks enforcement powers but that also has a sterling reputation, is getting involved. For it can be difficult to determine exactly what happened so close to the incident; air traffic control tapes only tell part of the story.

Consider that even months after a recent near-miss at the single-runway San Diego airport, "facts" were still coming out about how close the two planes came together. In fact, right after Conde Nast Traveler's June story on the topic appeared, I received a call from a congressional source who said he'd received credible reports that the controller on duty at the time was ill but had been ordered back to work by his supervisor. An official report on that January 16 incident has yet to be issued.