Plane traffic can sometimes be much worse than automotive traffic. In 2022, there were over 1,200 civilian registered aircraft accidents, as well as an increase in civilian aviation deaths from 2021 to 2022. However, the risk of fatality in commercial airlines in 2022 was 0.00% for every 100,000 flight hours. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration has had its hands full with a recent close encounter between two commercial airlines near a Syracuse, New York airport.
On Monday, it was reported that two commercial airplanes had appeared to come too close for comfort to one another while both planes flew near Syracuse Hancock International Airport. The two airliners involved in the close call were a Delta Airlines connecting flight and an American Eagle flight. Local news outlet WABC reported that the Delta flight was taking off at the same runway that the American Eagle flight was attempting to land on when the close call occurred.
The FAA revealed that the alarming incident occurred around 11:50 a.m. on Monday near the Syracuse airport. A spokesperson for the FAA recently revealed to Fox News that an air traffic controller instructed the American Eagle PSA Airlines Flight 5511 to fly around the airport to stay away from the Delta aircraft which was then taking off from the same runway. According to the airport’s Both commercial airlines were reported to have been flying about 700 to 1,000 feet from each other based on altitude levels. However, it is unclear how both planes came close to one another in the air horizontally. The entire incident was even caught by a local Police dash camera.
It is unclear still how the miscommunication between the Syracuse Hancock Airport air traffic control and PSA Airlines Flight 5511 occurred, however, the FAA has stated that it is currently investigating the incident. Currently, the FAA has not yet classified the incident as a “close call”
