The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened an investigation after a near miss involving ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris El Salvador and regional carrier United Express occurred on Dec. 18 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The two planes departed on parallel runways seconds apart, but a navigation error briefly brought them too close to each other, creating a near mid-air collision during parallel runway departure.
The Incident
Volaris Flight 4321, an Airbus A320neo, to San Salvador, El Salvador, and United Express Flight 4814 operated by CommuteAir, an Embraer ERJ145, to Jackson, Mississippi, were cleared to take off from parallel runways at George Bush Intercontinental Airport just seconds apart. Both crews were instructed to turn in opposite directions to ensure safe separation. The two aircraft followed routine procedures until takeoff.
Air traffic control (ATC) instructed the Volaris pilots to turn left, but a navigation error meant they turned right, putting them on a collision course with the United Express plane.
The planes came within approximately 700 feet horizontally and between 50 and 150 feet vertically of each other. Both flight crews reacted promptly as Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) – an onboard system that acts as a preventative safety measure against mid-air collisions and operates independently of ATC – triggered cockpit alarms and alerted the pilots of the immediate danger. The pilots responded promptly to the TCAS alerts and corrective instructions from ATC, which successfully avoided an accident.
After the incident, both flights continued and landed safely at their scheduled destinations.
Safety Response and Investigation
Following the incident, the FAA confirmed on Dec. 29 that an investigation had been opened to determine the cause of the near-collision. CommuteAir confirmed in a statement to news outlets on the same day that its crew complied with all ATC instructions, while Volaris has yet to issue a public statement.
The investigation is ongoing. The FAA is in the process of reviewing the event, which likely will include analysing ATC recordings and flight data, and interviewing the flight crews involved. In an official statement, they emphasised that the information provided so far is preliminary and subject to change as they gather more facts.
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