Newark, New Jersey – A close call between a commercial jet and a cargo plane trying to land on the transit runways at Newark Liberty International Airport Thursday is being investigated by federal aviation officials.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the incident Tuesday night when an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 flew over a FedEx Boeing 777 at the busy New York City area airport.
An air traffic controller instructed Alaska Airlines Flight 294 from Portland, Oregon, to perform a ground run — that is, halt a landing approach and pivot to a new path for landing — because FedEx Flight 721 from Memphis, Tennessee, had been cleared for a final approach on a crossed runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which was also investigating.
Alaska Airlines said in a prepared statement that the flight was cleared to land in Newark and that air traffic control “issued a run-around for our aircraft, for which our pilots are highly trained.” There were 171 passengers and 6 crew members on board, according to the airline.
FedEx said in a prepared statement that the flight crew followed air traffic control instructions and landed safely.