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United Airlines and FedEx flights avert midair collision over Atlantic

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United Airlines and FedEx flights avert midair collision over Atlantic
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United Airlines | Official Website

A recent air traffic control error nearly resulted in a midair collision between two transatlantic flights. A United Airlines Boeing 777-200, traveling from London Heathrow Airport to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, narrowly avoided a collision with a FedEx Boeing 777F en route from Memphis International Airport to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport. The incident occurred on June 21, 2025, about 160 nautical miles northeast of Gander in Canadian-controlled oceanic airspace.

The issue arose when Oceanic Control mistakenly included a flight level change in a Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) message sent to the United flight. According to the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB), "The controller issued a CPDLC clearance direct to TOPPS, which inadvertently included a flight level change to FL360 (36,000)."

This instruction put the United aircraft on course for an altitude conflict with the FedEx plane flying at 35,000 feet. The error was quickly identified by ATC, which issued voice instructions for the United crew to maintain their current altitude of 34,000 feet and ignore the CPDLC clearance. However, shortly after this correction, Flight 879 began climbing through 34,500 feet.

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At this critical moment, the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) on board alerted the pilots with warnings such as "Traffic! Traffic! Traffic!" followed by "Descend... Descend." TCAS systems are designed to provide last-resort alerts independently of ATC by using transponder signals from nearby aircraft.

Responding promptly to both TCAS and ATC instructions, the United pilots aborted their climb and returned to their assigned altitude. The Canadian TSB reported that vertical separation was re-established within seconds. Both flights proceeded safely to their destinations without further incident.

The occurrence has been classified as a Class 5 incident by the Canadian TSB. A spokesperson stated that “data on Class 5 occurrences are recorded in suitable scope for possible future safety analysis, statistical reporting or archival purposes.”

This event underscores challenges in managing oceanic air traffic where reliance on precise ATC communication is critical due to limited radar coverage. Errors can occur in CPDLC messages; however, backup systems like voice instructions and TCAS play vital roles in ensuring aviation safety.

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