A、They narrowly escaped crashing into each other. B、One plane climbed above the other at the critical moment. C、They bumped into

Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motor way. But there is the danger that grows every year. From the moment the airplane takes off to the moment it lands, every moment is watched on radar screens. Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb and when to come down. The traffic controllers around the busy airport may handle 1,000 planes a day. Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there. Every small mistake on their part could cause a disaster. Recently, such a disaster almost happened. Two large jets were flying towards the airport. One was carrying 69 passengers and had come from. Toronto, the other was carrying 176 passengers from Chicago. An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other. He ordered one to turn to the right to climb, but he made a mistake. He ordered the wrong plane to do this. So, instead of turning away from the second plane, the first plane turned towards it. 15 seconds later, it flew directly in front of the second plane. They avoided each other by a second. The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. This is an example of the danger that grows every year.