Southwest Airlines planes are seen at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas on Jan. 22.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
A FedEx cargo airplane was forced to change course during an attempted landing after a Southwest Airlines plane was cleared to depart from the same runway at an airport in Austin, Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FedEx plane was cleared to land while several miles away from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday morning, according to preliminary information, the FAA said. Shortly before the FedEx aircraft was due to land, an air traffic controller cleared the Southwest flight to depart.
“The pilot of the FedEx airplane discontinued the landing and initiated a climb out,” the FAA said in a statement. “The Southwest flight departed safely.”
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating the near-collision.
A similar near-miss happened at John F. Kennedy International Airport last month when An American Airlines flight crossed the same runway from where a Delta Air Lines flight was taking off.