Brave Air Traffic Controller Avoids Disaster Over the U.S.

A U.S. air traffic controller helped avert a near midair collision in Arizona after two American Airlines planes ended up with the same flight number in the same airspace. On Friday (local time), the controller noticed both aircraft were operating as “American 2482,” one departing Phoenix while the other was en route to Phoenix. To prevent confusion, he assigned designations “American 2482 on approach” and “American 2482 on departure,” then instructed the arriving plane to climb to a significantly higher altitude and told the other aircraft not to fly as high. He also ensured both crews could see each other. Once the departing plane cleared the airspace, the controller said he’d never seen anything like it in 25 years. The likely trigger was a delay that caused a different aircraft to operate the return trip. The FAA will investigate.