Planes in Dramatic Near-Miss Above Oregon Airport
Two commercial planes narrowly avoided a collision above an Oregon airport on Monday, coming within 250 feet of each other. The incident occurred around 4.15pm during a storm, with ‘tornadic activity’ reported across the state. The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and a SkyWest plane were captured in a video posted on YouTube channel VASAviation. The footage shows the tense moments as air traffic control urgently instructs the Alaska flight to change its heading to avoid a crash. The Alaska plane, traveling at 214mph, aborted its landing after the SkyWest plane took off from a parallel airstrip to the north. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently investigating the incident.
Alaska Airlines confirmed the near-miss and stated that the crew of Flight 1299 reacted immediately to increase separation from the other aircraft. They maintained a safe amount of lateral separation throughout the entire event. Similarly, SkyWest stated that the safety of the flight was not compromised. The number of passengers on each plane is currently unknown.
The incident occurred during stormy weather conditions, with a storm warning in place over Oregon. The Alaska Airlines 1299 flight had departed from John Wayne airport in Santa Ana at 2pm, while the SkyWest 3978 aircraft left Portland International Airport three minutes early. Following the near-miss, the Alaska plane was diverted to Roberts Field in Redmond, Oregon, landing 26 minutes late, while the SkyWest plane arrived in Seattle on schedule.
The FAA released a statement regarding the incident, explaining that the Alaska Airlines pilot initiated a go-around due to wind and turned towards the departing SkyWest aircraft. An air traffic controller instructed the Alaska pilot to turn away from the SkyWest plane. The FAA will be investigating the incident to determine the proximity between the two aircraft.
This near-miss raises concerns about air traffic control staffing. A recent New York Times investigation found that close calls like this are happening more frequently than expected. There have been at least 46 close calls involving commercial airlines in the US this year. The shortage of air traffic controllers has led to mandatory overtime and burnout among professionals in the field. According to the New York Times, 99% of air traffic control facilities in the US are understaffed, with many operating at around 60% capacity or less.
While incidents involving small aircraft can occur multiple times a year, the last fatal crash of a US airline occurred in 2009. The crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 resulted in the deaths of all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.