Close call between Alaska Airlines and Fedex planes at Newark airport under investigation

NTSB to investigate incident where commercial airliner and cargo plane tried to land on crossing runways in New Jersey
A close call between a commercial airliner and a cargo plane attempting to land on crossing runways at New Jersey ’s Newark Liberty international airport is being investigated by federal aviation officials.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Thursday said it was investigating an incident two days earlier during which an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 overflew a FedEx Boeing 777 at the busy New York City area airport.

An air traffic controller instructed Alaska Airlines Flight 294 from Portland, Oregon, to perform a go around – that is, discontinue its landing approach and circle around for a new approach to land – because FedEx Flight 721 from Memphis, Tennessee, was cleared for a final approach to an intersecting runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which also is investigating the Tuesday night episode.

Alaska Airlines said in a prepared statement that the flight was cleared to land at Newark and that air traffic control “issued a go around to our aircraft, which our pilots are highly trained for”.

There were 171 passengers and six crew members on board the flight, according to the airline.

FedEx said in a prepared statement that its flight crew followed instructions from air traffic control and landed safely.