Lucrezia Ciotti Fearful moments erupted in the American skies, where two airliners nearly collided just seconds after takeoff. The alarm was raised at Los Angeles Airport when the planes found themselves on converging paths, barely 300 feet apart. The control tower intervened decisively, while the FAA launched an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the incident.
Two planes collide shortly after takeoff, sparking fears at Los Angeles Airport.
There were moments of intense anxiety at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday, where two passenger planes nearly collided moments after taking off. The planes involved were an Air France Airbus A350-900 , bound for Papeete, French Polynesia, and an American Airlines Airbus A321 , en route to Dallas-Fort Worth.
The two aircraft had taken off from parallel runways , but during the initial phase of the climb they simultaneously began a left turn, finding themselves on dangerously close trajectories.
As reported by Il Messaggero , the critical situation was identified by air traffic control, which immediately contacted the crews, ordering them to change course and interrupt the maneuvers to avoid the impact.
Flight AF28 had used runway 24L, while AA1660 had departed from 25R. According to reconstructions, only the timely intervention of controllers and the pilots' promptness prevented the situation from escalating.
Planes just meters apart, crew in shock: FAA opens investigation
The extent of the danger emerges from ADS-B data collected by Wingbits . At the most critical moment, the lateral distance between the two aircraft dropped to 0,76 nautical miles , while the vertical distance reached just 300 feet, equivalent to about 92 meters, when the planes were 1,6 nautical miles apart. Recordings of radio communications with the control tower also document the turbulent nature of the episode .
After following the instructions they received, the Air France crew members appeared particularly shaken. The incident resulted in no injuries or consequences for the passengers: both planes continued their journeys regularly, reaching their respective destinations. It remains unclear, however, why the two crews made the same turn at the same time, immediately after takeoff.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will now have to analyze flight logs and radio communication recordings to reconstruct what happened, verify compliance with airport procedures, and identify any liability or operational anomalies.