(ECNS) -- China Eastern Airlines on Thursday rewarded the captain of its Airbus 320 three million yuan (about $443,852) for avoiding a tragedy at Hongqiao airport after he made an urgent but right decision on Oct. 11.
The Airbus 320 carrying 147 passengers to Tianjin was racing along the track for take-off around noon when an Airbus 330, also owned by China Eastern, began crossing the runway.
The captain of Airbus 320 made a decision to take off, flying over A330 and avoiding a deadly accident, according to an official within the control tower.
During the incident, the vertical minimum distance between the two airplanes was only 19 meters and 13 meters at the edges of wings.
A preliminary investigation showed that the tower controller was to blame for forgetting airplane dynamics, sending a wrong instruction to the Airbus 330 that resulting in an A level runway incursion.
He was also named as an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, and the entire Airbus 320 crew was awarded 600, 000 yuan.
