April 20 (UPI) — A Southwest Airlines flight arriving at Nashville International Airport over the weekend was directed into the path of another Southwest flight that was taking off, causing them to pass within 500 vertical feet of each other.
A flight arriving from Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Saturday evening initiated a go-around before landing because it was facing “gusty winds” during it’s approach, but air traffic controllers directed the crew into the path of another flight, USA Today, WSMV and WTVF reported.
The other flight was departing NIA on a parallel runway, which caused the close call, and “both flight crews responded to onboard alerts” because the two aircraft were 500 feet apart, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Five hundred feet is equivalent to 1 2/3 football fields, including the end zones, or two Boeing 747s lined up nose-to-tail, which is half the 1,000-foot distance the FAA requires aircraft to maintain.
The air traffic controller who gave the errant order recognized the mistake and corrected himself with both flight crews, who had already responded to alerts from their Traffic Collision Avoidance System, devices that are standard on all commercial aircraft.
“We are engaged with the FAA as part of the investigation,” Southwest said in a statement.
“Southwest appreciates the professionalism of its Pilots and Flights Crews in responding to the event,” the company said. “Nothing is more importing to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
