NEWARK, New Jersey — 8: 17 p. m. ET Tuesday — A plane close call unfolded at Newark Liberty International Airport when an Alaska Airlines 737 and a FedEx 777 cargo aircraft nearly collided while attempting to land on intersecting runways. Radar data from FlightRadar24 shows the Alaska flight was directed to go around seconds before touchdown, while the FedEx aircraft continued its landing on the intersecting runway. The Federal Aviation Administration has said it is investigating, and Alaska Airlines stated the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
What happened in the near-collision
FlightRadar24 data places the incident at about 8: 17 p. m. ET Tuesday, as the Alaska Airlines flight arrived from Portland, Oregon, and the FedEx aircraft arrived from Memphis, Tennessee. Air traffic control instructed the Alaska aircraft to go around seconds before it touched down, with the Alaska aircraft about 150 feet in the air, based on air traffic control audio and FlightRadar24 data.
As the Alaska aircraft climbed away, the FedEx aircraft continued landing on the intersecting runway. Preliminary FlightRadar24 data shows the Alaska aircraft cleared the FedEx aircraft by about 300 to 325 feet.
Plane separation and the key risk point: intersecting runways
Michael McCormick, former vice president of the FAA, tied the event to the inherent timing pressures created by intersecting runways. “It is a challenge for a tower controller to try to get that timing perfect it doesn’t always work and that’s what happened in this case, so the tower controller waited and unfortunately in my opinion too long and they had to send the aircraft on a go-around, ” McCormick said.
The FAA characterizes go-arounds as a “routine safety procedure, ” and the agency has stated it is investigating the incident.
Immediate reactions from FedEx, Alaska Airlines, and federal investigators
FedEx said its aircraft landed safely. “Following instructions from air traffic control, the flight crew of FedEx flight 721 landed safely without incident at Newark Liberty International Airport Tuesday. Please direct further questions to the FAA, ” FedEx said released Thursday afternoon.
Alaska Airlines said its flight had been cleared to land before being told to go around. “On Tuesday, March 17, Alaska Airlines Flight 294 was cleared to land at Newark Liberty International Airport. Air traffic control issued a go around to our aircraft, which our pilots are highly trained for. We’re aware the FAA and NTSB are investigating, and any further information would come from those agencies, ” the airline said released Thursday afternoon.
Quick context
The Newark incident comes two weeks after a Singapore Airlines aircraft clipped its wing with the tail of a parked Spirit Airlines aircraft on March 3. In that case, the aircraft were in an airport area where air traffic controllers do not control the traffic.
What’s next for the Newark investigation
The FAA has stated it is investigating, and Alaska Airlines said additional information would come from the FAA and the NTSB. As that process unfolds, the central focus remains the timing of runway operations at Newark and the sequence that led to the Alaska aircraft being sent around at low altitude while the FedEx aircraft continued its landing.
For now, the immediate outcome is clear: the plane on approach executed a go-around and both aircraft ultimately avoided contact, with separation measured in hundreds of feet rather than miles.
