Add The New York Post on Google Air traffic controllers at Boston Logan Airport frantically scrambled to avoid a near miss as two passenger planes came within 300 feet of each other, tense audio reveals.
A Delta Airlines plane was forced to perform a go-around just moments from landing on Saturday to avoid smashing into an American Airlines jet, which was barreling down the runway.
The two planes looked like they crossed each other, according to FlightRadar 24 maps, and aviation experts estimated the planes were just 300 feet from each other.
Two planes came within 300 feet of each other at Boston Logan Airport on Saturday. FlightRadar24 “Delta 2351 going around because of American,” the pilot said in the audio obtained by LiveATC.com.
“American 3161 where [are] you going?” a controller interjected.
“You cleared us for take off 3161,” the American Airlines pilot said.
“Delta 2351, turn right heading of 360, maintain 3,000,” the controller instructed.
Todd Curtis, a former safety engineer at Boeing, branded the near-miss a “significant incident.”
The Delta plane, which was en-route from Dallas, carried 129 passengers and six crew members and it landed safely after performing the go-around.
An airline spokesperson said the crew “received an advisory from onboard systems of potential traffic,” the Boston Globe reported.
“Delta aircraft are equipped with technology to warn crews of potential conflicts with other aircraft and our pilots train extensively to respond,” Anthony Black, a spokesperson, said.
The control tower asked the American pilot ‘Where [are] you going?’ Boston 25 News / YouTube The American Airlines plane – a Boeing 737-823 aircraft – was departing for Charlotte at the time of the scare.
The carrier referred requests for comment to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Go-arounds are safe, routine procedures performed at the discretion of the pilot or air traffic controllers, according to the FAA.
