Delta & United planes in near-miss over Phoenix

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Delta & United planes in near-miss over Phoenix

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Airbus A380 | Airbus

By Sky Industry News

Jan 14, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported a near-collision incident involving Delta Air Lines and United Airlines flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The event occurred on January 11, when both aircraft experienced a loss of required separation while approaching the airport.

According to the FAA, the aircraft involved were a Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300, registered as N820NW, operating flight DL1070 from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and a United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER, registered as N68891, flying UA1724 from San Francisco International Airport. The incident took place around 11 am local time above Estrella Village in Phoenix.

Both flight crews received alerts about the proximity of the other aircraft and were given corrective instructions by air traffic control. "Both flight crews received onboard alerts that the other aircraft was nearby. Air traffic control issued corrective instructions to both flight crews," stated an FAA representative.

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Flightradar24 data showed that at 11:58:19, both flights were aligned for approach but lost mandated separation by 11:58:58. Consequently, each plane entered holding patterns; the A330-300 turned northward while the 737-900ER turned southward over Phoenix.

Eventually, both flights landed safely without further incidents. The Delta Airbus touched down on runway 08/26 at 12:08 pm and later returned to Detroit before heading to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The United Boeing landed on runway 07R/25L at 11:06 am and completed its day with a final flight to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

The FAA explained that modern aircraft are equipped with systems like TCAS II or ACAS Xa/Xo for collision avoidance. These systems provide advisories for pilots when potential threats are detected through transponder interrogation of nearby aircraft.

"The system will provide appropriate aural and visual advisories to the flight crew to take action to ensure adequate separation when the computer analysis of the intruding aircraft transponder replies predict a penetration of protected airspace," noted an FAA statement regarding TCAS II functionality.

Additionally, ACAS Xa/Xo has been replacing older versions like TCAS I and II in newer aircraft models since March 2022 due to improved safety margins and optimized logic for collision avoidance.