The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching an inquiry into a near mid-air collision that occurred at 12:20 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2026, when two aircraft nearly crashed after having taken off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). After the incident, both American Airlines and Air France aircraft continued their flights without issue.
Near collision at LAX
The Federal Aviation Administration has stated that Air France Flight 28 made an unauthorised turn after departing Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), causing the plane’s flight path to shift toward an American Airlines aircraft. The FAA has claimed that the near-crash was a flight deviation by Air France, despite the departure assigned by air traffic control.
According to audio recordings released by LAX, Air France Flight 28 was ordered “o “to fly heading 270 immediately”, and “You were instructed to climb… not turn to a heading “. Soon after this, LAX air traffic controllers apologised to the American Airlines Flight 1660 crew, stating, “That aircraft just turned in front of you and that Air France Flight 28 had committed pilot deviation.”
The Air France Flight 28 pilot at the time did respond to the LAX air controller with the words “give me a minute” before being handed a phone number by LAX to report the possible flight deviation.
Flightradar24 shows that the two passenger aircraft came close to each other with less than a mile laterally and 400 feet vertically.
FAA investigation begins
Before flights begin, pilots are issued a written clearance called a standard instrument departure (SID), which requires pilots to program their computers to help them stay on the correct course. It is possible to program the wrong departure into the aircraft system, although what happened in this incident is not yet clear.
Both aircraft were set to depart to different locations: Air France Flight 28, an Airbus A350-900, was bound for Papeete, Tahiti, and American Airlines Flight 1660, an Airbus A321-200, was bound for Dallas. They both took off on parallel runways, with Air France 28 departing from Runway 24L and American Airlines Flight 1660 departing from 25R.
The FAA is now reviewing voice and radar recordings to understand and assess the full scope of the situation.
What do you think of the near collision at LAX? Let us know down in the comments!
