BOSTON -- An Aer Lingus Airbus with 260 passengers on board almost collided with a U.S. Airways jet taking off from Boston＇s Logan Airport. The near collision, which was avoided by a pilot＇s quick thinking, is now under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. The near miss occurred on June 9, 1995 after both jets had been wrongly cleared for near-simultaneous takeoff at intersecting runways. The Shannon-bound Aer Lingus plane, which had twelve crewmembers on board in addition to the passengers, had just taken off as the U.S. Airways plane was heading down the other runway and about to do the same. The difference between the near miss and what would have been a disastrous collision was only a few seconds. The U.S. Airways plane, a Boeing 737, was bound for Philadelphia with 103 passengers and six crewmembers. Investigators immediately pointed to an operational error by air traffic controllers as the cause of the incident. The closest that the two aircraft came to each other was estimated as 200 feet. Pilots must file a near miss report if planes come to within 500 feet of each other. The Boston Globe reported that the Aer Lingus pilot had filed such a report. The newspaper quoted a Logan air traffic controller as describing the distance between the two planes as being exceptionally close. The source also stated that the control tower was two employees short on the evening of the incident. The Aer Lingus plane was cleared for takeoff on Logan＇s Runway 15R. According to the NTSB, the U.S. Airways Boeing was then cleared on the intersecting Runway 9. The time lapse between the clearances, which were given by separate controllers, was just five seconds. With the Aer Lingus plane gathering speed for takeoff, the U.S. Airways 737 began its acceleration. The NTSB report stated that the Aer Lingus pilot had reported V1. According to the preliminary report, the co-pilot noticed the Aer Lingus A330 rotating just prior to the intersection of runways 15R and 9. The U.S. Airways co-pilot told his captain to keep it down and pushed the control column forward to ensure that the Boeing stayed on the ground. He later stated to the NTSB: The Airbus passed overhead with very little separation and once cleared of the intersection our captain rotated, and we lifted off towards the end of the runway. I reported to departure control that we had a near miss at which time Aer Lingus reported ＇we concur.＇ A statement from Aer Lingus, issued from its North American headquarters on Long Island, said that after take-off the Aer Lingus flight crew had contacted Logan tower to report the close proximity of a second aircraft. Following strict guidelines, the Aer Lingus Safety Unit in Ireland had then reported the incident to Irish Aviation authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S. FAA spokesman Jim Peters said that there have been seven runway incursions so far this year at Logan Airport, with the June 9 incident being by far the most serious. An incursion involves the improper entry of a vehicle, worker or other aircraft onto a runway that has been cleared by a controller for take-off or landing. Only two of the seven incursions involved operational error by an air traffic controller, with most coming from pilot deviation, Peters said. Peters confirmed that the two air traffic controllers who had simultaneously directed the Aer Lingus and U.S. Airways planes down intersecting runways were now receiving corrective action by the FAA. They are being de-certified until a retraining plan has been implemented, he said. They have been relieved of any local control positions while they are undergoing the retraining, but they do continue to work in other positions in the tower. Peters said that it is unlikely that the controllers would be fired under these circumstances. Under the labor agreement, loss of jobs could be an outcome if there were several such incidents involving operational error, he said. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to issue a final report in several months. The report will examine in detail the causes of the near-collision.4. Which of the following is true according to Peters’ statement?