The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating two separate incidents where commercial aircraft had to take evasive action to avoid mid-air collisions.
One incident involved Southwest Airlines Flight 507 and Southwest Airlines Flight 1152 near Nashville International Airport. According to the FAA, the crew of Southwest Flight 507 initiated a go-around at the airport but then received instructions from air traffic control that placed it in the path of another aircraft departing on a parallel runway. Both flight crews responded to onboard collision avoidance alerts. The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, April 18.
The planes reportedly came within 500 feet of each other. Air traffic data and recordings indicate that an air traffic controller inadvertently directed Southwest Flight 507 (a Boeing 737 Max 8) into the path of Southwest Flight 1152 (a Boeing 737-700), which was taking off for Knoxville from Runway 2 Right. The flight crews executed evasive maneuvers in response to Resolution Alerts.
The Boeing 737 Max 8, en route from Myrtle Beach to Nashville and cleared to land on Runway 2 Left, instead performed a go-around. At the same time, the Boeing 737-700 was taking off for Knoxville from Runway 2 Right. Seconds later, the controller directed Flight 507 to turn right, creating a potential conflict. The controller then ordered Flight 507 to climb from 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet while directing Flight 1152 to hold at 2,000 feet. Flight 1152 responded: “We’re already past it.” The controller instructed Flight 507 to descend and maintain 2,000 feet.
In a separate incident near New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Republic Airways Flight 4464 (operating as American Airlines Flight 4464) performed a go-around after missing its intended approach path and came too close to Air Canada Express Flight 8554, which had been cleared to land on a parallel runway. Both flight crews responded to onboard alerts during the incident that occurred around 2:35 p.m.
The FAA stated the information is preliminary, and both incidents remain under investigation.
