Two passenger jets narrowly avoided a midair collision after departing a major U.S. airport, triggering a federal investigation into how the planes ended up on intersecting flight paths. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the incident occurred earlier this month at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, when a Volaris Airlines flight departing for El Salvador made an unauthorized turn shortly after takeoff. Air traffic control had instructed the aircraft to turn left, but the pilot instead turned right—directly into the path of a United Express flight bound for Jackson, Mississippi, that had departed from a parallel runway. The FAA said Volaris Flight 4321’s maneuver put it on a collision course with CommuteAir Flight 814 at about 3:05 p.m. local time. United Airlines is a partial owner of CommuteAir. No injuries were reported, and the aircraft avoided contact. The FAA said it is continuing to investigate the incident. CommuteAir told FOX Business that, based on its initial assessment, its “crew followed all applicable ATC instructions.” The FAA did not immediately provide additional details on how close the planes came to one another or whether enforcement action could follow.
Read it at New York Post
