Tragedy was narrowly avoided on Tuesday, March 17, after an Alaska Airlines flight and a FedEx cargo plane almost collided. As reported by the New York Post, the two planes were both attempting to land at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The FAA released a statement about the incident. FedEx Flight 721 was cleared to approach a runway for landing. But, Alaska Airlines Flight 294 was also trying to land—they were ordered to do a go-around. A go-around is where a plane circles the airport before it attempts another landing.
It was an extremely close call. Data from the flights showed that they passed within a football field's length of each other. But luckily, a crisis was averted, and no one was injured.
Air traffic controllers managed to divert things. They told the Alaska flight to divert only seconds before it was meant to touch down. Quick work!
The former vice president of the FAA, Michael McCormick, explained how the incident happened. "It is a challenge for a tower controller to try and get that timing perfect," he said. "The tower controller waited and unfortunately—in my opinion—too long, and they had to send the aircraft on a go-around," he explained.
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This Comes After Several Other Close Calls In Recent Weeks
This isn't the first time a plane's had a close call in recent weeks. As we reported earlier this month, a small plane in Florida was forced to land directly on a busy road.
As reported by WPTV, the pilot was a 19-year-old. Niko Bray landed the plane on the "westbound lanes of Indiantown between Maplewood Road and Pennock Lane" in Jupiter, Florida.
The Palm Beach County Fire Rescue released a statement about the incident. "Miraculously, the aircraft did not strike any cars during the landing. There were no injuries on either the aircraft or the ground."
Bray said that the incident gave him a new outlook on life. "Never take it for granted, you never know when the last day you get to talk to your parents or family will be," he said.
We're glad no one was injured in either of these incidents.
