A Delta Air Lines flight from Dallas–Fort Worth was forced to abort its landing at Boston Logan International Airport on Saturday after coming within an estimated 300 feet of an American Airlines jet that was departing from an intersecting runway, according to an aviation expert who reviewed flight tracking data.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it was investigating the incident between the two commercial flights, which occurred Saturday afternoon. The Delta flight, designated as Flight 2351, had 129 passengers and six crew members on board, a Delta spokesperson said.
Todd Curtis, a former safety engineer at Boeing who now co-produces a podcast on flight safety issues, said he estimated the distance between the two jetliners using Flightradar24, a website that tracks flights in real time.
“This is a significant incident,” Curtis said, adding that it was particularly concerning because it involved two professional airline crews. He said federal aviation officials have been concerned about such runway incursions for a while and predicted they would scrutinize Saturday’s close call.
The crew of Delta 2351 coordinated with air traffic control to perform a go-around — a maneuver in which a pilot aborts a landing and climbs back into the air — after the American plane began its departure from an intersecting runway, according to the FAA and flight logs. Go-arounds are safe, routine procedures performed at the discretion of the pilot or air traffic controllers, the FAA said.
The Delta flight landed safely and deplaned normally after the maneuver, according to the airline spokesperson.
The incident comes amid a series of runway close calls at U.S. airports this year that have drawn the attention of federal regulators and Congress. On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation is scheduled to hold a hearing on near-misses and runway incursions, seeking ways to strengthen safety across the national airspace system.