Two passenger aircraft operated by Air France and American Airlines came dangerously close after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 7, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The incident occurred around 12:20 a.m. The FAA said the Air France flight made a turn it had not been cleared to make, putting it in the path of an aircraft that had departed from a parallel runway.
Air traffic control audio captured controllers quickly directing the Air France crew to turn west. A controller also warned American Airlines Flight 1660 that another aircraft was less than a mile ahead. The American pilots acknowledged the alert and said they would return to an altitude of 2,000 feet.
Steven Arroyo, a Florida-based aviation expert and retired airline captain who was not involved in the incident, said the planes came within 400 feet of one another and less than a mile apart. He described the proximity as dangerously close.
After the immediate conflict was addressed, a controller asked the Air France crew why it had turned. The crew had been instructed to climb according to its assigned Standard Instrument Departure, or SID, rather than turn to a specific heading. SIDs are published departure procedures that may be included in an aircraft’s clearance.
The Air France pilots later confirmed they had been assigned the SUMMR TWO departure procedure from LAX. The controller told them to resume the route, according to the audio.
The FAA said controllers issued corrective instructions as soon as the Air France aircraft entered the American Airlines plane’s path. Arroyo praised the controller’s response, saying the aircraft was turned west before the planes converged.
Arroyo said the FAA would likely examine the incident, noting that similar events had occurred in the area in recent years. He also said aviation incidents of this kind are very rare.
