Oct. 20—An American Airlines flight and another plane came dangerously close to a collision last week over Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to multiple reports.
The close call occurred around 10:45 a.m. CT Wednesday. American Airlines Flight 2587, a Boeing 737 emanating from Chicago with 122 passengers and six crew members on board, was approaching Austin-Bergrstrom for landing. CBS News reported that according to data from Flightradar24.com, the descending plane was about 350 feet above a Cessna 182; the planes were less than 800 feet apart, horizontally.
"American 2587, turn left heading to 175. And did you ever see him the second time around?" asked air traffic control to the pilots with American, which is based in Fort Worth. "175 we saw when he flashed us and flew right into us," a pilot responded.
The Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA), which is investigating the incident, told CBS News that the Cessna entered the flight path of the American Airlines flight. According to reports, air traffic control had alerted Flight 2587 about traffic in the area, which had been compromised by fog.
The American Airlines flight landed safely in Austin, while the Cessna—a single-engine, four-seat plane—continued on and landed in Gonzales, about 65 miles south of Austin.
" American Airlines flight 2587 landed safely at AUS after completing a go-around," said an American Airlines spokesperson. "We thank our crew members for their professionalism and expertise and for always prioritizing safety above all else."
Less than one week before, on Oct. 11, a Southwest Airlines flight that was cleared for takeoff nearly collided with another Southwest plane that had also been cleared for takeoff at San Diego International Airport. Southwest is based in Dallas.
"An air traffic controller cancelled the takeoff clearance for Southwest Airlines Flight 1478 at San Diego International Airport because another Southwest plane was cleared to cross the runway," the FAA wrote to CBS 8 in San Diego in a statement. "The second Southwest aircraft never entered the runway. The FAA is investigating the incident, which occurred around 9 a.m. local time on Friday, Oct. 11."
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