Two passenger planes averted disaster when they were forced to abort their landings after nearly colliding — coming less than 400 feet of each other as they approached the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport Monday afternoon.
The American Airlines- and Air Canada-manned flights neared the runway and glided dangerously close, within 350 feet of each other, FlightRader24 data shows.
Republic Airways Flight 4464 “performed a go-around” and deviated off its “intended approach path” just after 2:30 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The jet veered straight into Jazz Aviation Flight 554’s route while it was preparing to land, coming less than a football field’s length away from the aircraft.
FlightRadar24’s tracker showed the Republic aircraft suddenly dropped roughly 600 feet in mere seconds while flying over Long Beach.
At the same time, the Jazz plane shot up nearly 1,000 feet, according to the tracker.
The FAA said both flight crews properly responded to onboard alerts, effectively averting a disaster in the skies.
Republic Airways, which was operating the service for American Airlines, said the crew “received a resolution advisory” — an anti-collision announcement dispatched by the aircraft’s Traffic Collision Avoidance System.
The warning is considered the most serious pilots can receive and typically orders them to either climb or descend to avoid a rapidly-approaching threat.
Jazz Aviation, the regional airline flying for Air Canada, said the crew received a “traffic warning notification and resolution” on top of speedy directions from the air traffic controllers.
Both planes landed without incident shortly before 3 p.m.
The FAA said it is investigating the near-catastrophe.
