Air France A350 near-collision at Los Angeles International Airport, Digi Mart USA News (Los Angeles, United States): An Air France A350 had just taken off from Los Angeles when it turned left without authorization. It then found itself on the path of an American Airlines A321 about 120 meters away.
The incident occurred on Saturday, when the two aircraft, one from Air France and one from American Airlines, came within roughly 120 meters of colliding during takeoff. Together the two planes were carrying more than 500 passengers.
On Saturday morning, Air France flight AF28, an Airbus A350-900, took off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) bound for Papeete. At the same time, American Airlines flight AA1660, an Airbus A321-200, departed for Dallas, Texas.
Flight surveillance images show the two aircraft taking off in parallel. For reasons that remain unexplained, the Air France aircraft then turned left and headed toward the other flight.
The French pilot did not give the control tower an explanation for the sudden change of direction. He confirmed that he had been instructed to follow the SUMMR2 departure procedure, which requires the aircraft to continue straight ahead after takeoff without deviating until reaching 5,000 feet before joining its route.
However, AF28 turned too early, while the aircraft were nearly at the same altitude. The collision was narrowly avoided thanks to the air traffic controller in charge, who ordered both flights to move apart in opposite directions.
The American Airlines Airbus was also instructed to climb to 2,000 feet.
After apologizing to the pilot of AA1660, the controller asked the French pilot for an explanation, and the pilot took a long time to respond. Both flights were then able to continue on their routes as if nothing had happened.
An alarm, the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), should have sounded on board the aircraft, but it did not. This could prompt an investigation.
In 2025, 546,465 commercial flights departed from or arrived at Los Angeles airport. By comparison, Paris Charles de Gaulle airport recorded 479,301 flights in 2025.
