American Airlines Flight Narrowly Avoids Mid-Air Collision Near JFK Airport

An American Airlines flight nearly collided with another aircraft during their simultaneous descent toward New York’s JFK Airport. Both planes, American Airlines flight AAL28 and Tradewind Aviation flight GPD235, were directed to land at JFK at the same time. The incident occurred when the Tradewind flight deviated from its assigned path, causing concern for the American Airlines pilot. They narrowly avoided a collision, with the Tradewind flight changing course.

The American Airlines Airbus A321, concluding its journey from Los Angeles International Airport, was cleared to approach runway 22 left, while the Tradewind Aviation Pilatus PC-12 was cleared to approach runway 22 right, the channel reported.

However, the channel said that “for some reason” the Tradewind flight “joined the 22 left localizer.” The American flight reported the other plane taking a similar path, but the air traffic controller assured the American pilot that the plane “is landing on the parallel.”

That didn’t seem to be the case. The American Airlines pilot responded with “he is right above us,” before telling the controller that “we’re breaking up, he’s right above us.” A flight reconstruction map shows the Tradewind flight pulling out of the path after being instructed to discontinue its approach, heading southeast, while the AA flight continued its descent into JFK.

After landing, the AA pilot requested a “phone number for someone in the tower” regarding the approach to the airport. “Whoever gave Pilatus clearance to land. We need to talk to whoever that was,” the pilot can be heard saying. “It got way too tight. If we hadn’t bailed out, we would have collided.”

This near miss is part of a series of incidents, as recent investigations reveal that passenger planes have been involved in near accidents more frequently than publicly known in 2023. Concerns have been raised about safety in the aviation industry, with some attributing the increase in near misses to air traffic controller staffing shortages.

The Federal Aviation Administration maintains strict safety standards, even for events where no collision was imminent. While there have been no fatal crashes involving major U.S. airlines since February 2009, the rise in near misses has raised concerns within the industry.

This incident highlights the importance of continued vigilance and safety measures in aviation. Newsweek has contacted relevant authorities and airlines for comment.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, newsweek.com