NTSB: The FedEx plane was only 150 feet off the ground when disaster was averted

New York (CNN) A FedEx plane was only 150 feet off the ground when its pilots realized a Southwest Airlines plane was in the process of taking off on the same runway, and aborted its landing to avoid a potentially catastrophic accident last month, according to federal safety investigators. mentioned Thursday.

The report was from the National Transportation Safety Board, which looks at collisions and breakdowns in the transportation industry. As is typical for an initial report like this, the report evaluated no error for impending error.

the incident It took place early on February 4th at the International Airport in Austin, Texas. CNN previously reported that the two planes came within 100 feet of each other, based on data from FlightRadar24. NTSB preliminary results Confirmed previous reports It was the FedEx pilot, not the air traffic controllers, who discovered the problem and told the Southwest plane to ground its takeoff.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN earlier that she believes the two planes were 100 feet or less apart. Thursday’s report said the NTSB is still analyzing data from the cockpit recorders and other information and has not identified which is the closest.

“This is really close, very, very close,” Homendy told CNN reporter Pete Montaigne in an interview ahead of Thursday’s report. “It’s a huge concern for us.”

The report said the Southwest plane was racing down the runway, picking up speed for takeoff, when the FedEx pilot warning came through. The Southwest plane had already taken off, and veered sharply to the right as it became airborne. The FedEx plane swerved left as it aborted its landing to avoid a possible collision.

The NTSB said it was still analyzing flight data and other information and had not determined the closest distance between the two planes.

There were 128 passengers and crew members on the Southwest flight, and three crew members on the FedEx flight.

This is one of Five close cases involving US commercial passenger aircraft in the past few months. There were no reports of injuries in any of the incidents.