Two flights took off from Bush Airport on Dec. 18. One reportedly deviated from air traffic control instructions.
HOUSTON — Federal officials are investigating an aviation incident involving two departing flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport earlier this month.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it happened around 3:05 p.m. on Dec. 18, and emphasized that the information is preliminary and subject to change.
According to the FAA, air traffic control instructed Volaris Flight 4321 to turn left after departing Bush Airport. The FAA says the flight instead turned right toward CommuteAir Flight 814, which had departed a parallel runway.
The CommuteAir flight operates as United Express, and the Volaris flight is based in El Salvador.
The agency confirmed it is investigating the close call.
Aviation expert Josh Verde said that, as far as near collisions go, this incident was very close to being very bad.
According to an animation created by FlightRadar24, the two planes got very close on the runway. Data showed they were within 700 feet laterally and 150 feet vertically. Verde said that’s way too close.
“There’s nothing from this one incident that suggests that a particular airline is unsafe or that the pilots are no good — this is just a mistake, you know,” he said. “Humans are error-prone from time to time, and this kind of thing does happen, and it’s exactly why we have systems like TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System) to be kind of an extra set of eyes to look out for these kinds of things and to advise the pilots if there’s a collision hazard.”
And what would worst-case scenario be?
“Two presumably packed airliners would have collided at low altitude and low speed and it would have killed everybody on board both airplanes,” he said.
He said the TCAS deserves credit for alerting the pilots that something was amiss.
In a statement provided by CommuteAir, the airline addressed questions about the same date.
“Based on our initial assessment, our crew followed all applicable ATC instructions, and we do not have anything to add at this time.”
We have yet to hear from Volaris Air.
No additional details have been released, and officials have not said whether any further action will be taken as the investigation continues.
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