Cessna and American Airlines 737 make close contact in the air; FAA is investigating

The FAA is currently investigating a previously unreported incident over the skies of Austin, Texas. An American Airlines 737 and a Cessna 182 came within about 350 feet of each other near Austin Airport on Wednesday morning.

“Have you ever seen him for the second time?” An air traffic controller can be heard questioning the pilots of American Flight 2587 via air traffic control audio recordings.

One of the pilots replied, “We saw him shining at us and flying right into us.”

The American flight was approaching Chicago for landing with 122 passengers and 6 crew members on board when the two planes almost crossed paths around 10:45 a.m. local time. According to preliminary data from Flightradar24.com, the American flight was about 350 feet above the Cessna 182, with the two less than 800 feet apart horizontally.

“If you want to report a near miss, let us know,” the air traffic controller told the pilots.

The FAA told CBS News that the Cessna “unexpectedly entered the path of American Airlines Flight 2587,” triggering an alarm in the Boeing cockpit and prompting the pilots to take evasive action.

According to air traffic control audio recordings published by liveatc.net, the pilots of the American flight said they responded to an “RA,” or resolution advisory, signal from the plane's traffic collision avoidance system, known as TCAS. A TCAS warning is one of the last lines of defense to prevent a mid-air collision. Pilots are required to respond to an RA within five seconds.

The FAA says when the American pilots responded to the TCAS message, they turned to a third aircraft, a small private jet, resulting in a loss of separation between those two. That prompted air traffic controllers to urgently instruct the plane to change course: “6-Pappa-Golf, turn right immediately, 0-3-0,” and about 15 seconds later: “Papa-Golf traffic to your right, you “Do you have an American 737 in sight of him?”

A few minutes later, American Flight 2587 landed safely. “American Airlines Flight 2587 landed safely in AUS after a go-around,” an airline spokesman said. “We thank our crew members for their professionalism and expertise and for always making safety a top priority.”

Pilots could be heard on ATC audio talking about foggy conditions just before the final call.

According to the FAA, all three aircraft ultimately landed safely.

This came just days after air traffic controllers in San Diego cleared a Southwest flight to cross a runway that another Southwest flight was using to take off, putting the planes on a potential collision course before controllers cleared both planes ordered the stop.

On Tuesday, the FAA announced an audit Risk of runway collapse at the 45 busiest airports in the country. The aim of the audit is to identify any gaps in the procedures, equipment and process. It will include a risk profile for each airport and recommendations to improve security.

“On the whole Runway incursions have dropped significantly, even one incident is one too many,” the FAA said in a statement.

Wednesday wasn't the only close call in Austin.

Last February, a FedEx 767 was cleared to land while a Southwest 737 was still on the runway at Austin Airport in fog. That's what the National Transportation Safety Board said Two aircraft came within 150-170 feet from each other before FedEx first officer Robert Bradeen spotted the other plane.

“I saw a light that turned out to be the Southwest aircraft's navigation light and quickly recognized the silhouette that followed it and called for a scenic flight,” Bradeen told CBS News last month in his first interview with a television station. “There is a moment of disbelief. 'Am I really seeing this? Is that really a plane there?' And then training and experience come into play.”

FedEx Captain Hugo Carvajal was at the controls of this Boeing 767 and immediately began to climb to avoid a possible collision.

“On our day without two people in that cockpit, it was an aircraft accident,” Carvajal said, adding that both pilots were concerned when the air traffic controller cleared the Southwest flight on final approach. “As soon as the tower gave them the go-ahead to launch, we knew there was a problem because we were about three miles away, which is too close at that point.”

Found the NTSB The probable cause of this incident was “the local air traffic controller's incorrect belief that the Southwest Airlines aircraft would leave the runway before the Federal Express aircraft arrived on the same runway, resulting in a loss of distance between both aircraft.”