Former USC Trojan fullback and current ESPN broadcast analyst Brandon Hancock had his fair share of excitement back in college. He suffered through injury and played for one of the nation's top football programs, even being around for the team's 2004 BCS title. All of that, though, pales in comparison to an experience that Hancock just had: Hancock's plane almost collided with another plane on Wednesday.
Hancock's plane was coming in for landing when trouble nearly ensured. The plane, getting ready to touch down, apparently almost hit another one situated on the runway. The pilot managed to pull the plane up just in time to avoid the collision. As Hancock suggests, the pilot certainly deserves a reward here (though some might argue for something far more elaborate than a fruit basket).
How did this almost happen? The source must circle back to some form of miscommunication. Traffic communicators are paid to make sure that no two planes land or take off (or some combination thereof) at the same time, and they virtually always do a good job in assuring this reality. Perhaps someone misread the schedule or didn't see both flight patterns poaching at the same time.
Regardless of the confusion, the important thing is that no one got hurt. An airplane-airplane collision would certainly have been disastrous to those on both flights, and the pilot should be praised for acting quickly. Hancock (or someone else) should definitely buy and send that fruit basket.