Planes With Same Flight Number Avoid Possible Disaster Thanks to Quick-Thinking Controller

A Phoenix air traffic controller prevented a potential disaster after recognizing two American Airlines jets were operating with the same flight number, 2482, early Friday. Audio from shortly after midnight shows how the controller kept the aircraft separated as one plane arrived from Chicago while the other had already departed from Phoenix Sky Harbor. The controller said he had never seen two aircraft “merge with the same call sign” in 25 years. He kept the arriving aircraft safely above the departure route and ensured both pilots saw each other before they converged. Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said dispatch procedures likely failed to catch that both flights would be airborne simultaneously with identical numbers, and both the FAA and American said they will investigate.