An air traffic control tower is seen at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on March 27.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
An Air Canada Express AC-T plane nearly collided with an American Airlines AAL-Q regional jet that was off course before they both landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it is investigating the incident, in which the American Airlines jet, flown by Republic Airways, strayed from its assigned path and was flying too close to the Air Canada plane, operated by Jazz Aviation as Flight 8554. The Air Canada plane, en route from Toronto, was preparing to land on a parallel runway.
“You’re flying through the approach course on Runway 31 Left,” the air traffic controller told the American Airlines pilot, according to radio communications posted on LiveATC.net. “Correct immediately. You have traffic in the immediate vicinity.”
“Jazz 554, climb and maintain 3,000 [feet],” the air traffic controller told the Air Canada pilot as an alarm can be heard in the background. “The traffic on your left is overshooting the parallel.”
“All right,” the pilot responded.
“That guy overshot the final,” the controller said.
Both aircraft responded to onboard alerts, followed the directions of air traffic control and aborted their landings, the FAA said in a statement.
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Teri Udle, a Jazz spokesperson, said the aircraft was able to land safely.
“The flight crew received a traffic warning notification and resolution as well as direction from ATC – and the crew took immediate action. Safety is our top priority, and our crews are well-trained to deal with many operational situations such as this,” she said in an e-mail.
Both planes were Embraer ERJ 175 jets, which hold about 80 people.
The incident occurred less than a month after an Air Canada Express plane, operated by Jazz Aviation, crashed into a fire truck crossing the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Both pilots, Antoine Forest of Coteau-du-Lac, Que., and Mackenzie Gunther of Ontario, died when the Bombardier CRJ 900 carrying 72 passengers and four crew members struck the emergency vehicle on March 22.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Canadian Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.