Air France near-collision Los Angeles departure, Digi Mart USA News (Los Angeles, California): A near-miss may have been narrowly avoided after two aircraft from Air France and American Airlines came within about 120 meters of each other shortly after departing Los Angeles International Airport in California, according to a report from ladepeche.fr citing BNO News. The incident reportedly occurred late on Friday, November 6, into Saturday, November 7.
According to early details, an Air France Airbus A350-900 bound for Papeete, French Polynesia, had just taken off when an American Airlines aircraft departing the same airport for Dallas, Texas, also got airborne. As both planes continued climbing, the French aircraft reportedly made an unexpected left turn, deviating from its planned path.
Facing the risk of a collision, the air traffic controller immediately ordered the pilots to change their trajectories to separate the two aircraft, each carrying several hundred passengers.
Radio exchanges published by American media, as cited in the report, indicate that the Air France Airbus was following the SUMMR2 procedure, which calls for a rapid climb before controllers assign a direction. Once the aircraft were separated, the controller sought to understand why the Air France jet had left its route.
Difficulties in reaching the pilot led to a tense exchange.
“Under what procedure did you depart? I need an answer,” the controller reportedly told the crew, asking them to contact a phone number to explain the apparently unauthorized maneuver.
The controller then informed the American Airlines crew, saying, “Sorry, the aircraft turned right in front of you due to a pilot deviation.” The American pilot acknowledged the message with “Roger, nice job.”
The report notes that the incident highlights the challenges of managing air traffic at this heavily used airport, and that a similar situation had occurred a few months earlier, when a controller had to intervene to separate two aircraft departing at the same time. The details reported have not been independently verified.
