By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – The National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday it was investigating a close call in which an Alaska Airlines flight overflew a FedEx airplane while both jets were attempting to land on crossing runways at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said an air traffic controller instructed Alaska Airlines Flight 294, a Boeing 737, to perform a go-around because FedEx Flight 721, a Boeing 777, was cleared for the final approach to an intersecting runway at the New Jersey airport near New York City. The FAA said it was investigating the incident.
The FAA investigates most airspace incidents, while the NTSB only investigates significant close calls.
The Alaska flight was arriving after a flight from Portland, Oregon. It climbed from 300 to 325 feet as it passed over the intersecting runway.
Alaska said it had been cleared to land at Newark when air traffic control issued a go around “which our pilots are highly trained for.”
FedEx said its crew was following instructions from air traffic control and landed safely without incident at Newark.
A series of serious close-call incidents in 2023 prompted Congress to hold hearings that raised questions about FAA air traffic control operations. That prompted the FAA to take steps to improve its air traffic control operations, which remain short-staffed.
A January 2025 mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people and again raised questions about the FAA’s safety performance, prompting the NTSB to issue dozens of recommendations.
Earlier this week, the FAA said it was barring helicopter traffic near major airports operating on visual separation and requiring air traffic controllers to use radar to keep the aircraft apart.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio)
