Two planes came dangerously close to colliding at Newark Liberty International Airport after an air traffic controller cleared them onto intersecting runways simultaneously. The near-miss occurred when an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737, arriving from Portland, Oregon, was ordered to abort its landing after a FedEx Boeing 777, inbound from Memphis, had already been cleared for final approach on a crossing runway. The Alaska Airlines flight cleared the FedEx plane by just 300 to 325 feet, according to preliminary data from flight-tracking site FlightRadar24. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations. Alaska Airlines said its pilots were “highly trained” to perform the go-around maneuver requested by the controller, which the FAA describes as “a safe, routine maneuver.” FedEx said its crew “landed safely without incident.” The incident is the second significant runway scare at Newark in two weeks. A Singapore Airlines plane recently clipped the tail of a Spirit Airlines aircraft while pushing back from the gate.
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