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Near Mid-Air Collision Between Two Commercial Airplanes Prompts FAA Investigation

A near mid-air collision between a United flight and a Delta flight has prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a narrowly missed midair collision between a United flight and a Delta flight at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday. The planes got within 400 feet apart in vertical distance, according to data from FlightRadar24,” Breaking Aviation News & Videos wrote.

“Delta Flight 1070 had been cleared to land at Sky Harbor’s Runway 8 when a TCAS alert went off in the cockpit at roughly 11 a.m. The flight, carrying 245 passengers on an Airbus A330-300, was inbound from Detroit. At the same time, a similar alert was set off on United Flight 1724, a Boeing 737-900, from San Francisco, carrying 123 passengers and six crew members,” it continued.

“Delta and United said it was working with the FAA on the investigation,” it added.

CBS News reports:

Air traffic control issued corrective instructions to both flight crews and the two planes landed safely, according to the FAA.

In air traffic control audio obtained by CBS News, a controller can be heard clearing the United flight to land on Runway 7 right and then told the Delta flight to turn into position to land on Runway 8.

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That’s when the collision warning went off in the cockpit. “Descend, descend” is heard in the background.

The close call at the Phoenix airport comes amid an increase in plane near-collisions. On Jan. 8, a United flight was clipped by another plane at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and in April a Boston-bound JetBlue flight had a close call on the runway at Reagan National Airport.

“A Phoenix man on a walk with his family recorded video of a close call between a United Flight and a Delta Flight in the skies near Sky Harbor on Saturday,” AZFamily wrote.

WATCH:

Per CNN:

The incident follows a rise in recent years of “runway incursions” across US airports. There were 1,757 such incidents – ranging from very serious ones avoided to minor ones, like a vehicle near a protected surface — FAA data from fiscal 2024 shows. The FAA has responded with more air traffic controller training and a rare summit that addressed the close calls and air traffic controller fatigue.

Delta aircraft are equipped with technology that warns flight crews if the plane is in potential conflict with another aircraft, the airline told CNN after the latest incident near Phoenix.

“As nothing is more important than safety, Delta flight crews extensively train to handle uncommon scenarios such as this and followed the resolution advisory as directed,” a Delta spokesperson said Tuesday in a statement.

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United said it was working with the FAA on the investigation.

“While United flight 1724 was preparing to land at Phoenix on Saturday, its pilots received an automated flight deck warning to change their altitude,” a United spokesperson said Tuesday in a statement. “The pilots acted immediately and landed safely.”

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.


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