The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why a Southwest Airlines plane veered off course and had a close call with an air traffic control tower during an attempted landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the agency said Thursday.
The incident happened around 1 p.m. on March 23 when Southwest Flight 147 aborted its first approach to the airport because of bad weather.
Go around,” the air traffic controller is heard saying on ATC radio communication.
“Continue climbing,” the air traffic controller said about 12 seconds later.
“You were — not on the approach.” Southwest Airlines said the flight encountered turbulence and low visibility as it approached LaGuardia.
“We are reviewing the event as part of our Safety systems,” Southwest said in a written statement.
An expert panel assembled to address the issue identified multiple issues contributing to the incidents, including inconsistent funding, outdated technology, short-staffed air traffic control towers and onerous training requirements.
The panel was assembled after an emergency FAA safety summit in March 2023 that brought together regulators and industry groups after multiple high-profile runway incursions were reported at large US airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that it was looking into the reason behind a Southwest Airlines plane’s deviation and near miss with an air traffic control tower during an attempted landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The incident took place at 1:00 p.m. me. due to inclement weather, Southwest Flight 147 had to cancel its initial approach to the airport on March 23.
Over the air traffic controller’s radio transmission, someone can be heard saying, “Go around! Go around.”.
A little over a minute later, the air traffic controller said, “Continue climbing.”. It wasn’t you who was approaching. “.
As the aircraft approached LaGuardia, according to Southwest Airlines, it experienced turbulence and poor visibility. “We are investigating the incident,” the company declared.
In a written statement, Southwest stated, “We are reviewing the event as part of our Safety systems.”.
The FAA said that after the flight was rerouted to Baltimore, it touched down there without incident.
The incident occurs at a time when the FAA has been looking into near-collisions at US airports since last year.
Air traffic control tower staffing shortages, antiquated technology, uneven funding, and onerous training requirements were among the many problems that an expert panel convened to discuss the matter found contributed to the incidents.
The panel’s November report gave FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker a road map for modifications and enhancements.
“We have identified a confluence of issues that require immediate attention as they lead to an erosion of safety margins.”.
The panel was put together following a hastily called FAA safety summit in March 2023, which brought together industry associations and regulators in response to several high-profile runway incursions at major US airports.
At the time, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated, “We are particularly concerned because we have seen an uptick in serious close calls.”.
Commercial airplane crashes are still extremely uncommon. Every day in the US, about 45,000 flights occur without any fatalities.
This story was assisted by Pete Muntean and Holly Yan of CNN.
