Planes With Same Call Sign in Phoenix Could Have Been 'Disastrous'

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport narrowly avoided a serious situation after two American Airlines aircraft—one arriving and one departing—were both assigned the same public flight number, 2482, according to an air traffic recording. An air traffic controller noticed the overlap early Friday and labeled the planes as “American 2482 departure” and “American 2482 arrival,” keeping them separated as the arrival from Chicago landed and the departure took off. No collision or incident occurred. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating, while American said the arriving flight had been delayed and a replacement aircraft was given the same call sign.