According to the AP, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near crash by two airplanes over New York City on June 13th. A Delta Air Lines Boeing 747 arriving at JFK International Airport missed its approach and came dangerously close to a Shuttle America Embraer E170 departing from LaGuardia Airport at around 2:40 p.m. on June 13, the FAA said in a statement Friday.
Watch the simulation below:
The two planes were, at one point, only 200 feet apart, a federal official says. The required separation for aircrafts is “3 miles horizontally or a thousand feet vertically.” The exact reason for the Delta flight’s missed approach is unknown, but the FAA said standard procedures regulate these missed approaches. Pilots usually retreat back to a safe altitude and with the help of air traffic control, loop back around and prepare to land again. That didn’t happen this time around.
Delta has refused to comment on the incident.