The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Air France flight nearly hits American Airlines plane in LAX close call
An Air France plane nearly hit an American Airlines jet in a close call as the two aircrafts were departing from LAX over the weekend.
An incident near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) over the weekend involved an Air France Airbus A350-900 and an American Airlines Airbus A321-200 during their departures, according to multiple outlets. The Air France flight AF28 departed LAX from Runway 24L for Papeete, Tahiti, while American Airlines flight AA1660 departed from Runway 25R for Dallas–Fort Worth. Authorities and emergency responders monitored the situation as ATC intervened to restore safe separation during the initial climb.
According to the compiled material, the Air France A350-900 reportedly executed a left turn shortly after takeoff, placing it on a potentially converging trajectory with the American Airlines A321-200 that was climbing on an adjacent departure path. ATC issued immediate instructions to both crews to adjust their headings and climb profiles to reestablish safe separation. Several sources note that the two aircraft were in the early climb phase when the maneuver occurred.
A number of outlets provide timing details that place the events in the early morning hours, with Air France AF28 taking off first from 24L and American AA1660 following from 25R about a minute later. AeroTime and AeroXplorer report that ATC directed Air France to turn to a heading of 270 degrees and instructed American Airlines to maintain a reduced climb or specific altitude, while advising other traffic to maintain safe separation. The exact times vary slightly among reports, but the sequence is consistently described as a departure-departure near-miss during initial climb.
Emergency responders and airport authorities are described as monitoring the situation in the immediate aftermath, with no injuries or fatalities reported in connection with the near-miss. The material does not confirm any damage to either aircraft, and both flights were described as continuing to their destinations once safe separation was re-established by ATC. Several sources emphasize that no injuries or fatalities resulted from the incident.
Investigations and official review are portrayed as ongoing or pending by authorities. The FAA and other aviation authorities are described as reviewing incident data, including flight data recorder and air-traffic control communications, to determine the sequence of events and the reasons behind the left-turn maneuvers that created the potential conflict. No formal charges or definitive conclusions are reported at the time of the coverage.
Discrepancies among outlets appear regarding exact times and runway assignments, but the consensus across reports is that a departure-departure conflict occurred over the Los Angeles area, prompting ATC to intervene and separate the aircraft. Reports from AeroTime, AeroXplorer, Aerospace Global News, and others consistently reference the same two aircraft by their operators and flight numbers and describe a near-miss in the departure corridor with ATC-directed course adjustments.
Additional reporting on the event from KTLA highlights that the near-collision involved a misdirected navigation maneuver, with insufficient detail on the sequence or the contributing factors beyond the erroneous turn. KTLA notes the absence of confirmed injuries or damage and does not provide extensive specifics on airspace sectors, altitudes, or investigation outcomes beyond acknowledging the incident and the related safety implications for departure coordination near LAX.