FAA looks into close call between two commercial planes nearing JFK

FAA Air Traffic Control Staffing Under Scrutiny After LaGuardia Collision

A serious incident occurred at LaGuardia Airport when an Air Canada Express jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck after landing on Runway 4 just before midnight. Tragically, this accident resulted in the deaths of two pilots and left many passengers injured. Audio recordings from air traffic control revealed a controller acknowledging a “failure,” which has triggered an emergency investigation by the NTSB focusing on human factors and runway safety protocols.

Adding to the concerns, there was also a near-miss involving two airliners approaching New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. This incident prompted a federal investigation as well. According to the FAA, Republic Airways Flight 4464 had to perform a go-around after deviating from its approach path and coming too close to Air Canada Express Flight 8554, which was landing on a parallel runway.

The FAA reported that the incident took place around 2:35 p.m., with both flight crews reacting to an onboard alert. They noted that this information is preliminary, and further investigations are ongoing.

Republic Airlines stated that their crew, operating as American Airlines Flight 4464, aborted their landing attempt and executed a go-around safely. They received a resolution advisory during their approach. Meanwhile, Air Canada reported that its flight from Toronto encountered a traffic alert and received guidance from air traffic control while nearing JFK.

It’s important to note that a go-around is a standard safety procedure where the pilot executes a new approach after abandoning an initial landing attempt.

This series of incidents has heightened scrutiny on the operations of commercial airlines, especially following another close call involving Southwest Airlines. The FAA disclosed that a Southwest flight had been directed toward a potential collision course with another plane. Fortunately, both crews managed to respond to in-flight alerts, preventing any injuries in that case as well.