The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a very close call between two Southwest planes in Nashville
the Federal Aviation Administration She said she was investigating a very close call between two Southwest Airlines flights at Nashville International Airport.
At their closest point, the two planes were on top of each other, and the vertical separation between the two planes was only 500 feet, according to FlightRadar24.
A Southwest Airlines plane on the tarmac at Nashville International Airport, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Adobe iStock files
The accident occurred at approximately 5:30 pm on Saturday. Southwest Airlines said Flight 507 was about to land in Nashville amid gusty winds when pilots took a “precautionary measure.”
While in the air, the pilots received “instructions from air traffic control” that placed the plane on the path of another Southwest flight. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the plane was taking off from a “parallel runway.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said pilots aboard the two Southern planes responded to on-board warnings.
“There are many alarms that can go off in the cockpit,” ABC News contributor and retired Marine Colonel Steve Ganyard said. He explained. “In this case, the most serious of those alerts was telling those pilots, ‘You’re on a collision course, and you need to move the plane now.’
Southwest said Flight 507 landed quietly after turning around, and Flight 1152 continued its takeoff.
“Southwest appreciates the professionalism of our pilots and flight crews in responding to this event,” the airline added. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
