List of US aircraft near-miss incidents since 2023

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With seven runway incursions of United States commercial aircraft during January and February, the first two months of 2023 saw the highest rate of such incidents in five years. 2018 to 2022 combined had 23 comparable incidents, 5 of which occurred in 2022. [1] The events prompted a review by the Federal Aviation Administration, [2] announced by acting administrator Billy Nolen on February 28, 2023. [3] The review started on March 15. [4] For the first time in 14 years, U.S. aviation industry leaders met the same day at a safety summit. [4]

Contents

An August 2023 report in The New York Times found that 46 close calls had occurred involving commercial airliners in the previous month. In one instance, two consecutive aircraft taking off from San Francisco International Airport nearly hit a Frontier Airlines plane whose nose had intruded onto the runway, each only missing by a small margin that an internal FAA report called "skin to skin". The New York Times investigation attributed the increase in incidents in large part to a shortage in air traffic controller staffing, with overworked controllers making more errors. [5]

On January 29, 2025, approximately two years after these incidents became a more frequent issue, the deadliest commercial aviation disaster in more than a decade occurred between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter. [6]

List of incidents

The list below includes all newsworthy near miss incidents at U.S. airports since 2023:

DateLocationIncident FAA RI Rank [a] [8] NTSB Accident ID (links to reports) [9] Refs.
2023-01-09 Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, CaliforniaAir traffic control cleared a plane to land in the same location where a plane was already being inspected.B [10] Not investigated by NTSB [1]
2023-01-12 Baltimore/Washington International Airport, MarylandA plane crossed the wrong runway after air traffic control did not notice the pilot's misunderstanding.B [11] Not investigated by NTSB [1]
2023-01-13 John F. Kennedy International Airport, New YorkA Delta aircraft aborted its takeoff after an American Airlines plane crossed its path.BDCA23LA125 (summary, docket, prelim, final) [2]
2023-01-23 Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, HawaiiA United Airlines aircraft crossed a runway into the path of a Kamaka Air small cargo plane.CDCA23LA133 (prelim) [2]
2023-02-04 [2] Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, TexasA FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest jet came within 100 feet after both being cleared for the same runway.A [12] DCA23FA149 (summary, docket, prelim,final) [2]
2023-02-16 Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport, Florida Air Canada Rouge flight 1633 was cleared to take off on runway 14, and American Airlines flight 2172 was cleared to land on the same runway.CDCA23LA179 (prelim) [13]
2023-02-22 Hollywood Burbank Airport, CaliforniaA landing Mesa Airlines took evasive action to avoid a SkyWest plane taking off.un-assessed [b] DCA23LA185 (prelim) [14]
2023-02-27 Boston Logan International Airport, MassachusettsA landing JetBlue flight took evasive action to avoid a private jet that crossed the runway.B [15] DCA23LA192 (docket, final) [2] [16]
2023-03-07 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, VirginiaA Republic Airways plane crossed the path of a United Airlines plane that was cleared for take off.D [17] Not investigated by NTSB [18]
2023-08-11 San Diego International Airport, CaliforniaA Cessna Citation aircraft overflew a Southwest aircraft by about 100 feet.A [19] OPS23FA010 (prelim) [20]
2024-04-17 John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York Swiss International Air Lines Flight LX17 was cleared to take off at runway 04L. Four other planes were cleared to cross the same runway. The Swiss jet aborted its takeoff.CDCA24FA164 (prelim) [21]
2024-04-18 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Virginia Southwest Airlines Flight 2937 was cleared to cross runway 4, while JetBlue Flight 1554 was starting its takeoff roll on the same runway.CNot investigated by NTSB [22]
2024-05-29 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Virginia American Airlines Flight 2134 aborted takeoff, because a Beechcraft Super King Air was cleared to land on an intersecting runway.COPS24FA031 (prelim) [23]
2024-09-12 Nashville International Airport, Tennessee Alaska Airlines Flight 369 was cleared for takeoff, while Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 was cleared to cross the same runway. Alaska 369 aborted takeoff.CDCA24FA300 (prelim) [24]
2024-10-11 San Diego International Airport, CaliforniaThe ATC cleared a Southwest plane to cross the runway, and at the same time, Southwest Flight 1478 was cleared to take off on the same runway. Southwest 1478 aborted takeoff.PendingPending [25]

Two United Airlines planes collided on March 6, 2023 at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. [26]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Federal Aviation Administration categorises runway incursions by seriousness as Accident, Category A (collision narrowly avoided), Category B (significant potential for collision), Category C (ample time or distance to avoid collision), Category D (no immediate safety consequences). [7]
  2. ↑ The FAA were still reviewing the incident as of 1 March 2023.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Daugherty, Alex (March 2023). "'We were very lucky': Near-collisions spark new worries for air travel". POLITICO . Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wallace, Gregory; Muntean, Pete; Valinsky, Jordan (March 1, 2023). "The 5 airplane near crashes under investigation | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  3. ↑ Wolfsteller, Pilar (March 2, 2023). "US NTSB releases preliminary report on Austin near-miss". Flight Global . Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "What lies behind a string of US airline near-misses?". BBC News. March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ Ember, Sydney; Steel, Emily (August 21, 2023). "Airline Close Calls Happen Far More Often Than Previously Known". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/takeoffs-landings-halted-ronald-reagan-national-airport-after-aircraft-incident-2025-01-30/
  7. ↑ "Activities, Courses, Seminars & Webinars - ALC_Content - FAA - FAASTeam - FAASafety.gov". www.faasafety.gov. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ "FAA Runway Safety Office - Runway Incursions (RWS)". FAA. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  9. ↑ "NTSB Aviation Investigation Search". NTSB. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ RWS Batch Brief, FAA, 2023
  11. ↑ RWS Batch Brief, FAA, 2023
  12. ↑ "RWS Batch Brief". FAA. 2023.
  13. ↑ Greg Wallace; Pete Muntean (March 16, 2023). "Aircraft in Florida came within 14 seconds of colliding, NTSB report shows". CNN. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  14. ↑ Muntean, Pete (February 24, 2023). "Close call between two planes on runway at Burbank Airport under investigation". CNN. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  15. ↑ FAA. "RWS Batch Brief". www.asias.faa.gov.
  16. ↑ "JetBlue plane and Learjet involved in near miss at Boston Logan Airport". BBC News. February 28, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  17. ↑ FAA. "RWS Batch Brief". www.asias.faa.gov.
  18. ↑ "Officials investigate latest close call at US airport". BBC News. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  19. ↑ FAA. "RWS Batch Brief" . Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  20. ↑ Niles, Russ (August 12, 2023). "Citation Overflies 737 At San Diego". Aviation News Web. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  21. ↑ Ronny Reyes (April 23, 2024). "Swiss Air jet almost collides with four other planes in near-catastrophe on JFK runway". New York Post. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  22. ↑ Chris Nesi; Katherine Donlevy (April 19, 2024). "Planes nearly collide on runway at Reagan National Airport outside DC, stopping just 400 feet apart". New York Post. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  23. ↑ David Shepardson (May 31, 2024). "US NTSB to Probe Wednesday's Near-Miss Between Planes at Washington Airport". U.S. News. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Alaska Airlines plane aborts takeoff to avoid collision with Southwest jet". September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Near miss on runway at San Diego International Airport". CBS 8. October 14, 2024.
  26. ↑ Klein, Asher (March 6, 2023). "2 United Planes Wings Clip at Boston's Logan Airport; No Injuries". NBC Boston. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
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