Two American Airlines planes nearly collide over Phoenix due to scheduling error (VIDEO)

Two American Airlines planes with the same call sign 2482 nearly collided over Phoenix's international airport due to a scheduling mix-up. One was landing while the other was taking off toward it, both on the same radio frequency. A controller with 25 years of experience noticed the converging paths on radar, intervened, and separated the aircraft by altitude. The FAA and American Airlines have launched an investigation.

On the morning of Friday, August 14, two American Airlines passenger planes nearly collided over Phoenix's international airport. The incident was caused by a scheduling mix-up: a flight from Chicago was delayed due to bad weather, so the airline sent a backup plane, which was mistakenly assigned the same flight number 2482. As a result, two aircraft with identical call signs were in the air simultaneously: one was landing, the other was taking off toward it, both on the same radio frequency. A controller with 25 years of experience averted the tragedy. Noticing rapidly converging trajectories on radar, he immediately intervened, asked the pilots to maintain a safe interval, identifying them as "American 2482 on arrival" and "American 2482 on departure," and separated the aircraft by altitude. The pilot of the arriving plane thanked the controller for his work. The FAA and American Airlines have initiated an official investigation. The carrier's press service assured that a safe interval was maintained throughout the flight.