Two airplanes narrowly averted a collision at Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport in Texas on Saturday after an air visitors controller cleared the coming and departing flights to each use the identical runway, the authorities mentioned.
A FedEx cargo airplane, a Boeing 767, was pressured to abort its touchdown after a Southwest Airways flight was cleared to depart on the identical runway, the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned in a press release.
The FedEx flight, touring from Memphis, Tenn., was cleared to land on Runway 18-Left round 6:40 a.m. native time whereas it was a number of miles from the airport, the F.A.A. mentioned.
“Shortly earlier than the FedEx plane was as a result of land, the controller cleared Southwest Flight 708 to depart from the identical runway,” the company mentioned. “The pilot of the FedEx airplane discontinued the touchdown and initiated a climb out.”
In an excerpt of radio transmissions of the episode posted on Twitter, an air visitors controller alludes to diminished visibility circumstances, mentioned Michael McCormick, a former F.A.A. management tower operator and an assistant professor of aviation science at Embry-Riddle College, which has its administrative places of work in Daytona, Fla.
At one level, the Southwest flight is abruptly instructed to abort, in keeping with the audio excerpt.
Mr. McCormick mentioned the air visitors controller probably couldn’t see both of the 2 planes, however was counting on each pilot experiences and airport floor detection know-how to trace the planes. He mentioned the near-collision was “exacerbated” by diminished visibility, which may be brought on by dense fog or an unusually narrower hole between the bottom and clouds.
Mr. McCormick mentioned there was not sufficient room between the 2 planes and mentioned they had been in a “vital section of flight in unhealthy climate circumstances.”
Mr. McCormick and Ross Feinstein, a former spokesman for each the Transportation Safety Administration and American Airways, mentioned the near-miss gave the impression to be brought on by air visitors management. The union that represents air visitors controllers couldn’t be instantly reached on Sunday.
The Southwest airplane landed about three hours later in Cancun, Mexico, in keeping with the flight monitoring web site FlightAware. It was not instantly clear how many individuals had been aboard. An organization consultant declined to remark. A spokeswoman for the Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport declined to remark.
Shannon Davis, a FedEx spokeswoman, mentioned that the cargo airplane, which was coming from Memphis, ultimately landed safely in Austin. It was not instantly clear what, if any, cargo it was carrying.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board and the F.A.A. each mentioned they had been investigating.
The episode in Austin got here a day after a minor accident involving two United Airways planes at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport. A Boeing 787 that was being towed clipped the wing of a parked airplane, a Boeing 757-200, the F.A.A. mentioned. Pictures from the scene confirmed the tip of a wing was ripped off.
Nobody was injured and airport operations weren’t affected, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey mentioned. Passengers had been rebooked onto completely different flights, and the opposite airplane didn’t have any passengers, a United Airways consultant mentioned. The F.A.A. mentioned it was investigating.
Final month, at Kennedy Worldwide Airport, an American Airways airplane crossed a runway about 1,000 toes in entrance of a Delta flight that was about to take off. The American pilots seem to have misconstrued instructions issued by air visitors management, in keeping with radar information and audio recordings.
