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Two Southwest Airlines planes narrowly avoided a midair collision after air traffic control at a Tennessee Airport put them in each other’s paths, according to federal officials.
The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 507 was initiating a go-around at Nashville International Airport around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday when the near miss unfolded, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The plane received instructions from air traffic control during the go-around that put the flight “in the path of another airplane” taking off from a parallel runway, the FAA said in a statement to The Post.
Both Southwest pilots told the air traffic controller they received onboard alerts urging them to take action — with one flight then climbing and the other descending to avoid a crash, according to the FAA and audio posted to www.LiveATC.net.
Location data from Flightradar24 showed the planes may have flown as close as 500 feet apart at one point. If confirmed, the distance would qualify as the official definition of a near midair collision.
Flight 507 landed safely after the scare, while the other Southwest Airlines flight, 1152, continued its trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, WWLTV reported.
A Southwest Airlines spokesperson said gusty winds forced the first pilot to do the initial go-around.
“Southwest appreciates the professionalism of its pilots and flight crews in responding to the event. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” the airline said in a statement.
The FAA will investigate the incident.
The close call comes after an Air Canada plane crashed into a rescue truck at LaGuardia Airport last month, killing both pilots, when an air traffic controller gave both the go-ahead for the same runway.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop,” a controller demanded, according to heart-stopping audio from the tower. “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop, Truck 1. Stop.”
A controller can be heard later in the audio admitting, “I messed up.”
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