Close Call at Newark Airport Prevented by Calm Controller
An audio recording has emerged featuring a remarkably composed female air traffic controller who successfully averted a potential disaster at Newark Airport earlier this week by instructing pilots to “avoid.”
This alarming near-miss occurred on Tuesday evening when an Alaska Airlines jet and a FedEx cargo plane were both on approach to land on intersecting runways.
The air traffic controller calmly directed Alaska Airlines Flight 294, coming in from Portland, Oregon, to abort its landing just in time to steer clear of FedEx Flight 721.
“294, go around,” she said, indicating that the Alaska Airlines plane should circle back for another landing attempt.
Radar data revealed that the two aircraft were alarmingly close to colliding during their descent.
The situation escalated as a FedEx flight arriving from Memphis, Tennessee, had also been cleared for final approach to the same runway. Consequently, the two planes were heading toward each other at alarming speeds.
Ultimately, the airliner skimmed past the FedEx charter at a distance of roughly 300 feet—about the length of a typical football field—according to FlightRadar24.
Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are now investigating this close call. Officials from Alaska Airlines and FedEx stated that their crews acted in accordance with training protocols, ensuring that both planes landed safely.
At the time of the incident, there were 171 passengers along with six crew members aboard the Alaska flight.
