Just a day after a global IT outage, an American Airlines plane landed at La Guardia International Airport in New York on July 20, 2024. Following closely behind, an American flight en route from Chicago to Austin had a harrowing experience with another aircraft over Austin-Bergstrom International Airport last week.
According to various reports, an American Airlines flight and another plane had a dangerously close encounter. The incident took place around 10:45 a.m. CT last Wednesday.
American Airlines Flight 2587, a Boeing 737 carrying 122 passengers and six crew members from Chicago, was approaching Austin-Bergstrom for landing. Data from Flightradar24.com indicated that the descending plane was only about 350 feet above a Cessna 182, resulting in the two planes being less than 800 feet apart horizontally.
During the incident, air traffic control instructed the American Airlines pilots to turn left heading to 175 and inquired whether they spotted the other aircraft on the second pass. “175 we saw when he flashed us and flew right into us,” responded one of the pilots from American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), currently investigating the matter, informed CBS News that the Cessna had entered the flight path of the American Airlines aircraft. Reports suggest that air traffic control had warned Flight 2587 about the compromised visibility due to fog and the presence of nearby air traffic.
Despite the close call, the American Airlines flight landed safely in Austin, while the Cessna, a single-engine, four-seat aircraft, proceeded to land in Gonzales, approximately 65 miles south of Austin.
“American Airlines flight 2587 landed safely at AUS after completing a go-around,” stated a spokesperson from American Airlines. “We thank our crew members for their professionalism and expertise and for always prioritizing safety above all else.”
Less than a week prior to this incident, another close call occurred on October 11, when a Southwest Airlines flight, cleared for takeoff, narrowly avoided colliding with another Southwest aircraft also cleared for takeoff at San Diego International Airport. Southwest Airlines is headquartered in Dallas.