In the most recent of several recent close misses between flights, federal authorities are looking into an incident in which a private plane was instructed to abandon its landing and narrowly missed colliding with a Southwest Airlines jet that was using the same runway to take off.
The business jet came “within 100 feet” of colliding with the airliner, according to Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who spoke to CNN on Monday.
The incident, which happened on Friday at San Diego International Airport, is being looked into by the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to the FAA, a Southwest airliner was still on the runway when a Cessna Citation business jet was instructed to shorten its approach to landing and circle instead.
In accordance with the preliminary investigation conducted by the agency, an air traffic controller gave the private plane permission to land before instructing the Southwest pilots to taxi onto the same runway and await clearance to take off.
The private plane was able to loop and pull up before a secure landing. The controller was made aware of the potential clash by the airport’s automated system for monitoring aircraft and ground vehicles, according to the FAA.
More than a dozen close calls at airports throughout the nation were looked at by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board this year. The NTSB tweeted that it was also looking into the San Diego incident.
The FAA held a “safety summit” in March as a result of the spike. Two further recent incidents are being looked into by federal authorities. Investigators are looking into the crash of a fighter jet made in the Soviet Union on Sunday during an air show in Michigan; the pilot and another passenger escaped and avoided major damage, according to officials.
Additionally, investigators are trying to figure out what might have led to a suspected loss of cabin pressure on a Thursday American Airlines flight over Florida. Before safely touching down in Gainesville, Florida, the aircraft fell more than 15,000 feet and had its oxygen masks removed, according to the FAA.
If they suspect a decrease in cabin pressure, pilots typically attempt to fly lower, where the air is more oxygenated.
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