Pilots told controllers they received a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System notification, or TCAS, then flew higher to avoid the other plane. The required separation was maintained, the FAA said.
“That guy’s insane,” a controller told the pilot about 20 seconds later. The pilot responded, “I agree.”
Open-source flight tracking data shows the aircraft appeared to have been operating in visual flight conditions in airspace west of Fort Lauderdale where pilots are generally not required to be in contact with air traffic control. The data indicates the aircraft was equipped with a functioning transponder.
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The flight also took place in an area identified on FAA charts for concentrated flight training activity, where student pilots and training aircraft are common. Historical weather records indicate visual flight conditions at the time, meaning pilots would have been responsible for maintaining separation by seeing and avoiding other aircraft.
Recently, several close calls have occurred at airports across the country. In April, a plane landing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport strayed into the flight path of a jet landing on a parallel runway. Last year, most notably, 67 people died when an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet collided over the Potomac River.
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CNN’s Graham Hurley contributed to this report.
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