BOSTON – A Delta Air Lines aircraft came within an estimated 300 feet (90 meters) of an American Airlines jet in a close-call incident at Boston Logan International Airport, prompting the Delta crew to abandon its landing attempt over the weekend, an aviation safety expert said Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it has opened an investigation into the encounter involving the two commercial flights, which occurred Saturday at the busy Boston airport.
Todd Curtis, a former Boeing safety engineer, calculated the approximate separation between the two planes by reviewing data from Flightradar24, an online flight-tracking service. Curtis currently co-produces a podcast focused on aviation safety matters.
“This is a significant incident,” Curtis said, noting that the situation was especially troubling because both aircraft were being operated by experienced commercial airline crews.
Curtis said runway incursions have been a persistent concern for federal aviation regulators, and Saturday’s near miss is likely to receive close examination.
The broader issue of near-collisions and runway incursions at U.S. airports is also expected to take center stage Tuesday during a Capitol Hill hearing. The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation plans to examine possible steps to improve safety throughout the national airspace system.
According to the FAA and flight records, the Delta flight arriving from Dallas was instructed to carry out a go-around — an aborted landing — to avoid the American Airlines aircraft as it departed from an intersecting runway.
A Delta spokesperson said the crew of Flight 2351 worked with air traffic controllers to complete the go-around safely. The aircraft, carrying 129 passengers and six crew members, later landed without incident and passengers exited the plane normally, the spokesperson said.
Go-arounds are safe, routine procedures performed at the discretion of the pilot or air traffic controllers, according to the FAA.
