UA Express, NW Avert Midair

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near collision between United Express and Northwest jetliners at 30,000 feet yesterday. Initial reports from FAA cited a mistake by a controller at Chicago Center. The United Express plane was enroute from Chicago to Lincoln, Neb and the Northwest aircraft was inbound from Denver to Detroit when they came within 900 feet, violating the 1,000-foot rule for vertical separation. TCAS kicked in prompting the captains to take evasive action. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association indicated that the controller and an assistant were distracted by a test of new technology. FAA disputed this saying the controller lost track of the aircraft.More