Air France A350 and American Airlines A321 in near miss after LAX departures

An aviation incident near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) involved an Air France Airbus A350-900 and an American Airlines Airbus A321-200 shortly after their departures from nearby runways. The event was first reported as a near-miss in the departure corridor, with air traffic control (ATC) intervening to separate the two jets as they climbed away from LAX, according to Aerospace Global News and AeroXplorer’s coverage of the same event. The Air France flight was identified as AF28, while the American Airlines flight was identified as AA1660.

According to the reporting outlets, the Air France A350-900 departed from Runway 24L and began a left-ward deviation soon after takeoff, which placed it on a potential converging course with the American Airlines A321-200 that was climbing on an adjacent departure path. ATC issued an immediate heading change for the Air France aircraft to restore safe separation, and instructed the American Airlines crew to adjust their climb as well. The two aircraft were described as in the departure path area when the separation action was executed, with the traffic management agency stepping in to separate the jets.

The timing details vary slightly among sources, but AeroTime’s account notes specific times: AF28 departed around 8:15 a.m. UTC and AA1660 followed about a minute later, with ATC issuing a turn to 270 degrees for the Air France crew and advising the American Airlines crew to maintain a reduced climb. The events reportedly occurred while both aircraft were in the early stages of climb after liftoff from parallel or nearby runways at LAX, highlighting the challenge of coordinating traffic on closely spaced departures.

Details about aircraft operations and exact runway assignments show some variation across sources. AeroTime specifies that AF28 took off from Runway 24L and AA1660 from Runway 25R, and notes that ATC provided a traffic advisory to AA1660 when another aircraft was observed at its 12 o’clock position. The Aviation authorities’ immediate response focused on reestablishing safe separation as the incident developed in the departure corridor.

Emergency response and aftercare are described as standard for near-miss events. The outlets generally report that no injuries or fatalities were recorded in connection with the near-miss and that responders and airport authorities monitored the situation to ensure safe subsequent operations for both flights. There is no consistent reporting of aircraft damage, with some summaries indicating no damage while others do not confirm damage either.

Investigators from aviation authorities, including the FAA, were noted as reviewing data following the event. The material references a data analysis process that could include reviewing flight data recorder information and ATC communications to reconstruct the sequence of events and understand why the Air France A350 performed the left turn instead of following its assigned departure procedure. None of the sources provide a formal determination or conclusion at this time.

Across the coverage, the incident is framed as a notable close miss in a busy departure environment near LAX, where parallel runways and rapid climb-outs can lead to potential conflicts if procedures deviate. The report from AeroXplorer indicates that this was not an isolated deviation, as other departures from Runway 24L had been noted by authorities in previous weeks, underscoring ongoing attention to departure procedures at LAX.

The broader set of material includes context surrounding aviation-industry reporting and stock movements. While 24/7 Wall St. focuses on airline-stock performance rather than incident details, Simple Flying’s coverage, while largely unrelated to this LAX event, helps illustrate ongoing industry conversations around airline operations and safety culture. The additional material does not provide further verified facts about this particular near-miss beyond the core event described by the other outlets.