FAA Probes Near Collision at Syracuse Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will investigate a near collision in the skies over airport in Syracuse, New York, on Monday, local Channel 9 reported Wednesday.

American Airlines/Eagle Flight 5511 was attempting to land at Syracuse Hancock International Airport at the same time Delta Flight 5421 had just departed from the same runway.

Video obtained by NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse from a North Syracuse Police Department dashcam shows the two planes crossing paths and an Onondaga County Sheriff's deputy can be heard reacting. To the naked eye it appears they were close to a collision based similar size and flight path but ultimately did not.

An FAA spokesperson told the outlet, "The FAA is investigating the July 8 event. It is routine for planes to take off and arrive on the same runway."

The FAA issued a statement after the incident: "An air traffic controller instructed Blue Streak Flight 5511 to go around at Syracuse Hancock International Airport to keep it safely separated from an aircraft that was departing on the same runway."

The FAA further called a go-around as a "safe, routine maneuver performed at a pilot's discretion or an air traffic controller's request before a potentially unsafe condition occurs."

The Syracuse incident is one of several over the past month keeping FAA investigators busy.  In June a Southwest Airlines flight departed from a closed runway in Maine, and on Monday the agency ordered an inspection of 2,600 Boeing 737 planes over concern passenger oxygen masks could fail during emergencies.

• FAA Orders Inspections of 2,600 Boeing 737s Over Oxygen Mask Issue
• FAA Probes Flight That Departed From Closed Runway