Airlines
A near-collision between 2 planes in Austin prompts an FAA investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that a Southwest Airlines plane was given the go-ahead to depart from the same runway at an airport in Austin, Texas, forcing a FedEx cargo plane to alter its course during an attempted landing.
On Saturday morning, the FedEx plane was given the go-ahead to land while still a distance away from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the FAA reported. The Southwest flight was given the all clear to depart by an air traffic controller just before the FedEx plane was scheduled to land.
The incident happened when Austin-Bergstrom International Airport air traffic controllers authorised a FedEx cargo plane to land on the same runway that a Southwest passenger plane was authorised to take off on. Once the error was discovered, the FedEx jet aborted its landing and climbed back to its original height.
According to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, “the pilot of the FedEx jet abandoned the landing and commenced a climb out.” A FedEx spokeswoman later told the reporters that their plane also made a safe landing after the incident, and the Southwest plane was able to take off without problem.
Southwest Airlines pilot hangs from window to retrieve passenger’s phone(Opens in a new browser tab)
The incident was described as a “potential runway incursion and overflight” in a tweet by the National Transportation Safety Board. Flightradar24’s flight data reveals the two aircraft approaching one another on the runway.
The NTSB is investigating an incident involving a Southwest 737 and FedEx 767 that occurred today in Austin. Initial ADS-B data show the landing 767 overflying the departing 737. We are processing granular data now. https://t.co/twHCydm5ixhttps://t.co/wZ3Z0xKJem pic.twitter.com/nkKVjshXmf
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 5, 2023
In a statement, FedEx claimed that their cargo plane from Memphis safely touched down at the airport “after encountering an occurrence.” According to FlightAware data, the Southwest Airlines flight departed Austin 15 minutes later than expected but made an early arrival in Cancun, Mexico.
