Narrow Escape: Southwest and FedEx Planes Avoid Collision at Austin Airport

A FedEx cargo plane was forced to abort its landing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday due to a Southwest Airlines aircraft being given clearance to depart from the same runway.

FedEx Flight 1432, an 11-year-old Boeing 767-300 coming in from Memphis, was cleared to land on Runway 18L at Austin-Bergstrom. Approximately 4 minutes later,

Southwest Flight 708, a Boeing 737-700 heading to Cancun, notified the tower that they were holding on a taxiway perpendicular to the runway and ready to depart.

Even though FedEx Flight 1432 was closing in, the air traffic controller cleared Southwest Flight 708 for takeoff and informed them that the FedEx 767 was on a three-mile final, meaning they were three nautical miles away and approximately two and a half minutes from landing on the same runway. Under normal weather conditions, this wouldn’t be too much of a concern as the pilots in the FedEx 767 would clearly see the Southwest 737 and, if needed, they could decide to go around on their own.

At the time of the incident, however, the meteorological conditions were unfavorable. The visibility was only a quarter of a statute mile, with scattered clouds 200 feet above the airport, and a Runway Visual Range (RVR) of only 1200 feet.

RVR is a measurement of the distance a pilot can see down the runway from the cockpit of an aircraft and helps pilots determine if it is safe to land or take off. In this case, the RVR was 1200 feet at the touchdown zone, 600 feet at the midpoint, and 1600 feet at the rollout. This means that the pilots of the FedEx 767 and Southwest 737 most likely couldn’t see each other in the weather, making them both rely entirely on the air traffic controller to keep them apart.

As Southwest Flight 708 got into position on Runway 18L, the tower radioed, "Southwest 708 confirm on the roll." Southwest replied, "rolling now." At the same time, FedEx Flight 1432 was approaching the runway at 137 knots, without being able to see more than 1200 feet in front of them. Southwest 708 started their takeoff roll, gaining speed, while FedEx Flight 1432 was closing in behind them at their approach speed.

As FedEx Flight 1432 was over the runway at 150 feet, they must have seen the strobe lights of Southwest Flight 708 in front of them down the runway. They immediately aborted the landing and averted a disaster. The ATC recording sounds like the FedEx pilot said "Southwest abort" and then two seconds later, "FedEx is on the go," indicating that they were aborting the landing and would go around for another attempt.

Southwest Flight 708 was already rolling down the runway at takeoff speed and starting to take off as FedEx Flight 1432 was almost halfway down the runway and climbing above the Southwest 737. They were essentially on top of each

other with about 600 to 750 feet of altitude between them. The FAA and NTSB will do final reports to confirm speeds, altitudes, and details with accuracy, but it appears that FedEx Flight 1432 was as low as 75 feet above the ground at 136 knots while Southwest Flight 708 was just a few thousand feet down the same runway in front of them, about to take off.

The Southwest flight crew and passengers may have been unaware of the dangerous situation that was unfolding behind them as two aircraft came dangerously close to each other. The pilots of FedEx 1432, who were approaching the same runway, quickly sprang into action and followed the missed approach procedure perfectly by climbing to 1000 feet and turning left. They expedited the climb at 3260 feet per minute to reach 1000 feet as soon as possible and turned away from Southwest 708 avoiding a collision.

The quick climb and the left turn ensured that Southwest 708 remained below FedEx 1432 at all times. FedEx 1432 was then set up for another ILS approach and successfully landed. The air traffic controller apologized saying “…sir you have our apologies

we appreciate your professionalism” to the FedEx pilot for the incident and the pilot thanked the controller. Despite the high level of safety in aviation, incidents can still happen due to human error or other factors. The FAA and NTSB are currently investigating the incident, which the National Transportation Safety Board referred to as a "possible runway incursion and overflight" in a tweet.

Many suspect that both human error and reduced visibility played a significant role in the situation.

However, it is important to note that aviation is still one of the safest forms of transportation, especially in the United States. The last fatal crash in the US occurred almost exactly 14 years ago, on February 12, 2009, when Continental Connection Flight 3407 operated by Colgan Air crashed near Buffalo, New York, claiming the lives of all 49 people on board and one person on the ground. Despite this tragedy, aviation safety has continued to improve. In the United States, daily operations of airlines result in the smooth and safe transportation of over 2.3 million travelers to and from nearly 80 destinations around the world. Travelers can feel confident in their choice to fly.