The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating two separate incidents where commercial aircraft had to take evasive action to avoid mid-air collisions.
One incident involved two Southwest Airlines jets just north of Nashville International Airport.
“The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 507 initiated a go-around at Nashville International Airport and then received instructions from air traffic control that put the flight in the path of another airplane that was departing from a parallel runway. Both flight crews responded to onboard alerts. The FAA is investigating the event that occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, April 18,” the FAA said in a statement, according to NewsChannel 5 Nashville.
The planes reportedly came within 500 feet of each other.
2 Southwest planes came within 500 feet in close call near Nashville airport https://t.co/wBfF7vzXft
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 21, 2026
CBS Evening News provided video coverage:
Gusty winds near Nashville International Airport prompted two Southwest Airlines jets to take evasive action to avoid a potential midair collision. @KrisVanCleave has the details. pic.twitter.com/ALe3ZN3uK2
— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) April 20, 2026
NewsChannel 5 Nashville shared further:
A review of air traffic data and ATC recordings indicates that a controller inadvertently turned a Southwest Boeing 737 Max 8 into the path of a Southwest Boeing 737-700 that was taking off from the airport. Pilots in both aircraft indicated that they took evasive action in response to Resolution Alerts (RAs) from their on-board collision avoidance systems.
The Max 8 aircraft, Southwest Flight 507, was heading from Myrtle Beach to Nashville and had been cleared to land on Runway 2 Left. For unknown reasons, the data suggests the flight crew decided to execute a “go-around” instead of landing.
At the same time, the 737-700, Southwest Flight 1152, was taking off for Knoxville from Runway 2 Right, just to the east of the other aircraft.
Seconds later, the air traffic controller directed Flight 507 to turn right, putting it into a potential conflict with Flight 1152.
Apparently realizing his mistake, the controller suddenly ordered Flight 507 to climb from 2,000 feet in altitude to 3,000 feet, while directing Flight 1152 to hold at 2,000 feet.
“We’re already past it,” Flight 1152 responded.
The controller answered, ” He’s already in the turn. Flight 507, descend and maintain 2,000.”
“Down to 2,000,” Flight 507 quickly shot back.
Meanwhile, two commercial jets came too close to each other while approaching New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The planes were forced to abort landings.
Watch below:
Two passenger planes were forced to abort landings at New York’s JFK Airport after coming dangerously close mid-air on Monday, April 20. The FAA is now investigating. pic.twitter.com/T1OTgXIshk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 22, 2026
Fox News has more:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the crew of Republic Airways Flight 4464 performed a go-around after missing its intended approach path and flying too close to Air Canada Express Flight 8554, which had been cleared to land on a parallel runway.
Both flight crews responded to onboard alerts during the incident, which happened around 2:35 p.m., according to the FAA.
The agency said the information is preliminary, and the incident remains under investigation.
Republic Airways said the flight, operating as American Airlines Flight 4464, aborted its initial landing attempt and performed a go-around during its approach into JFK.
“During their approach into JFK, the crew…received a resolution advisory,” the airline said. “They complied with the advisory and, consistent with our training and procedures, executed a go-around to land without further incident.”
Air Canada said its flight from Toronto received a traffic warning and direction from air traffic control during its approach into JFK.
“The crew took immediate action,” the airline said. “Safety is our top priority and our crews are well-trained to deal with many operational situations such as this.”
The airline added that the flight landed safely.
