Close call as two planes come within 500 feet of each other near JFK Airport
NEW YORK -- A pilot on a regional Delta Air Lines flight reported a small plane getting too close as the passenger jet approached John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday.
According to air traffic control audio recordings, an air traffic controller warned the pilot of the Delta plane, operated by Endeavor Air, of a personal aircraft, noting that they were not in contact with the small plane, made by Cirrus, and that the plane was about 500 feet above them.
It happened one day after a traumatic landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, the second near miss of the week.
The Endeavor pilot initially told the controller they got a traffic advisory, which alerts pilots of any traffic nearby.
Later, the Endeavor pilot told the controller they got a resolution advisory, which is a warning from the collision avoidance system which provides pilots with specific instructions to avoid a collision.
However, the RA did not instruct them to maneuver - it told them only to maintain their position.
"Endeavor 5289 yeah I'm not talking to him. He's 500 feet above you now left to right half a mile in front of you," an air traffic controller said.
"And tower Endeavor 5289 he just flew about 500 feet right over so looks like he's taking a left turn now," the pilot said.
Both planes were trying to land at JFK Airport and passed dangerously close to each other on Monday around 5 p.m.
Preliminary data from Flightradar24, shows there was about 475 feet of vertical separation between the two aircraft as their paths crossed.
The Endeavor plane was at 2,100 feet while the Cirrus plane was at 2,575 feet.
Thankfully, the Delta pilot and air traffic control had the small plane in sight and a tragedy was averted.
ABC News has reached out to the FAA for more information and whether the agency is investigating.
The close call happened just a day after a United Airlines jet when it hit a semitrailer truck and light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike as it came in to land at Newark Liberty International Airport.
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