NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) — An Alaska Airlines 737 and a FedEx 777 cargo plane nearly collided as they attempted to land on intersecting runways at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to radar data from FlightRadar24.
The incident happened around 8:17 p.m. Tuesday as the Alaska flight arrived from Portland, Oregon, and the FedEx plane arrived from Memphis, Tennessee, according to the data.
Air traffic control told the Alaska plane to go around seconds before it touched down while the plane was just 150 feet in the air, according to air traffic control audio and FlightRadar24 data. Meanwhile, the FedEx plane continued its landing on the intersecting runway.
Preliminary data from Flightradar24 shows the Alaska plane cleared the FedEx plane by just 300 to 325 feet.
A control tower is seen at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Monday, May 5, 2025.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
The former vice president of the FAA said Tuesday’s issue came down to two runways that intersect.
“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,” Michael McCormick said.
The incident comes two weeks after a Singapore Airlines plane clipped its wing with the tail of a parked Spirit Airlines plane on March 3.
In that case, the planes were in the area of the airport where air traffic controllers do not control the traffic.
The FAA calls go-arounds a “routine safety procedure” and says it is investigating
Alaska Airlines and FedEx both released statements on Thursday afternoon.
“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 in a statement.
“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,” Alaska Airlines said in their statement.
Tuesday’s incident comes amid the partial government shutdown, which has caused significant staffing shortages for the Transportation Security Administration and longer security wait times at some airports
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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