By Mary O’KEEFE

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is investigating an incident in which an EVA Air Boeing 777 flew north instead of south after departing from LAX early Friday morning. The flight number was EVA 015, according to Ian Gregor, FAA spokesman.

“At the time aircraft were departing from LAX to the east. EVA departed off the south runway complex,” Gregor stated in an email response to CVW. “The EVA flight crew switched from the LAX control tower to the approach control in San Diego right after takeoff.”

The air traffic controller who was handling the EVA instructed the pilot to make a left turn to a 180-degree heading. She meant to tell the pilot to make a right turn to a 180-degree heading; the pilot turned left.

“The controller quickly realized EVA was turning in the wrong direction. She took immediate action to keep EVA safely separated from an Air Canada jet that had departed LAX off the north runway complex,” Gregor said. “The controller wanted to keep the EVA aircraft safely above or away from the nearby terrain. FAA regulations require aircraft to be at least three miles laterally or 2,000 feet vertically above objects such as mountains.”

However, according to reports, the plane was heading toward the San Gabriel Mountain area and Mt. Wilson at an altitude of 5,000 feet. Mt. Wilson is at 5,700 feet. The controller quickly gave new directions away from the mountains just seconds before the plane entered the region.

“The FAA is investigating the distance of the EVA aircraft from the terrain,” he added.

  Mary Okeefe