Air France Jet Makes Wrong Turn After Takeoff at LAX, Coming Within About 400 Feet of an American Airlines Plane
Two airliners that had just taken off came close to colliding over Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, on the morning of November 7.
Air France Flight 28, an Airbus, was supposed to climb out on the published SUMMR TWO departure procedure but turned left off its assigned course into the path of an American Airlines jet that had taken off from a nearby runway at the same time. The American flight was bound for Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas; the Air France flight for Papeete, French Polynesia. Controllers repeatedly asked the Air France crew why it was turning, urgently instructed it to turn to a heading of 270 degrees, and warned the American crew: "Traffic at 12 o'clock, less than a mile, maintain 2,000 feet." Flight-tracking data showed the two aircraft came within about 400 feet vertically.
The two planes carried about 500 passengers combined; both continued to their destinations and no one was injured. Controllers later told the Air France crew the incident might be handled as a pilot deviation and gave them a phone number to contact air traffic control. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to investigate whether the crew failed to follow instructions and whether further action is warranted; as of November 8, no cause had been announced and the FAA had not responded.
(Source: New York Post)
Source: New York Post
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：洛杉矶国际机场航拍（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Aerial view of Los Angeles International Airport (file photo). Wikimedia Commons.
