A recent near-miss incident involving an American Airlines flight has reignited concerns over aviation safety in the United States.
An American Airlines flight departing Boston on Tuesday was forced to abort its landing at Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport to avoid a collision with another aircraft departing from the same runway. The flight crew executed a go-around maneuver, ensuring the safety of all 80 passengers and crew on board.
This incident is part of a troubling trend of near-misses in U.S. airspace. On the same day, a Southwest Airlines flight at Chicago Midway Airport narrowly avoided a collision with a private jet that crossed the runway without authorization.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later determined that the private jet crew had failed to follow air traffic control instructions, which nearly led to disaster.
These events follow several other high-profile near-misses in recent years.
In February 2023, a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines jet came within 100 feet of each other in Austin, Texas, while a JetBlue flight had to take evasive action to avoid a private jet at Boston Logan International Airport. The frequency of these occurrences has raised concerns about the effectiveness of current air traffic control measures and aviation safety protocols.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NTSB have launched investigations into these incidents and are working to implement stricter oversight and improved communication between pilots and air traffic controllers.