Air traffic control audio has captured the tense seconds when two incoming flights came dangerously close to one another near an airport.
The near-collision happened on Monday afternoon as both aircraft were inbound to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Republic Airways Flight 4464 strayed from its “intended approach path” and drifted into the vicinity of Jazz Aviation Flight 554 while it was lining up to land shortly after 2:30pm.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates the aircraft came within around 350 feet, prompting alarmed controllers to instruct the crews to change course without delay.
In audio obtained by ABC News, one controller cautioned the Republic pilots:
“You are flying through the approach course of runway 31 left. Correct immediately.”
A second controller, monitoring the developing situation, issued directions to the other flight:
“Jazz 554 climb and maintain 3,000 (feet). The traffic on your left is overshooting the parallel.”
The FAA said onboard safety systems alerted the flight crews and the aircraft were successfully separated, preventing a midair collision.
Both flights landed without incident shortly before 3pm, and the FAA has opened an investigation into what happened.
Republic Airways, which operated the service for American Airlines, said the pilots “received a resolution advisory” — the most urgent type of Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) warning, designed to help prevent a crash.
Such advisories typically instruct pilots to climb or descend immediately to avoid a looming conflict.
Jazz Aviation, which operates regional flights for Air Canada, said its crew received a “traffic warning notification and resolution” and also followed rapid instructions from air traffic control.
Although near-misses and crashes are the part of flying no traveler wants to contemplate, commercial aviation is still widely regarded as one of the safest ways to travel, routinely outperforming road travel and other modes of transport in safety comparisons.
Recent high-profile events can make it seem as though incident rates are climbing. When stories like the American Airlines collision with a military helicopter over Washington, D.C., dominate headlines, it can leave the impression that serious aviation accidents are becoming more common.
Last year, a former commercial pilot and crash investigator discussed why aviation incidents may feel more frequent to the public.
Shawn Pruchnicki, who spent a decade flying for Delta Connection, previously described his own experience of a near miss in comments to the Daily Mail. He said:
“I had just landed at JFK and a 747 was coming into land on a parallel runway. The control tower asked the pilot if he would be able to stop short of our location and he said that he could which meant they cleared us to cross the runway,” he explained.
He added:
“We had a gut feeling that this pilot – who possibly wasn’t familiar with the airport – couldn’t do what he said and so we decided not to cross and to stay where we were.
“A few moments later the 747 blasted through right in front of us, hurtling past at a high rate of speed. If we’d crossed the runway as directed, there would have been a collision.”
Pruchnicki also pointed to broader system pressures when explaining why crashes can appear more common, highlighting what he described as “the chronic shortage of air traffic controllers”.
Speaking about the strain on the profession, he said:
“I feel for these controllers. They are over-worked and over-stressed – they know that if they make a mistake someone could die.”