An Alaska Airlines flight nearly collided with a FedEx cargo plane while trying to land at Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday, according to radar data, after the landing was called off.
Flight tracking data shows the Alaska Airlines plane, which had taken off from Portland, Oregon, was moments away from touching down at the busy New York City-area airport at around 8:17 p.m. At the same time, a FedEx 777 cargo jet arriving from Memphis, Tennessee, was on its final approach to a nearby runway. In the final moments, an air traffic controller told the Alaska Airlines pilot to abort the landing and maintain 2,000 feet in the air.
Big Tragedy Avoided
At one point, the Alaska Airlines jet was just 150 feet above the ground, and early data from Flightradar24 suggests it passed the FedEx cargo plane by just 300 to 325 feet. After the FedEx aircraft landed safely, the pilot was heard over air traffic control radio thanking the controller, saying, "Nice job."
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have since launched an investigation to understand how the two planes ended up so close to each other.
Michael McCormick, a former FAA vice president, pointed out that coordinating such situations isn't easy, noting that getting the timing exactly right is a real challenge for air traffic controllers in the tower.
"It doesn't always happen and that's what happened in this case," he told ABC 7. "So the tower controller waited and unfortunately, in my opinion, too long, and they had to send the aircraft on a go-around."
In a statement, an Alaska Airlines spokesperson said the flight had initially been cleared to land at Newark, but air traffic control later instructed the pilots to perform a go-around — something they are extensively trained to handle.
Investigation On
The aircraft was carrying 171 passengers along with six crew members at the time, and the airline confirmed that no one was injured. FedEx also said its crew followed all instructions from air traffic control and completed a safe landing.
The incident comes at a time when air traffic controllers are continuing to work without pay due to a partial government shutdown. Lawmakers from both parties have yet to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security, with tensions heightened after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens during immigration raids in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Airlines for America, an industry trade group, is urging Congress to resolve the shutdown quickly, noting that around 171 million people are expected to travel by air between March 1 and April 30 — about four percent more than during the same period last year.
