Federal aviation officials are investigating what prompted an airborne Alaska Airlines plane to steer toward the flight path of a SkyWest aircraft this week near Portland International Airport.
The incident took place Monday afternoon during stormy conditions. An Alaska Airlines flight from Orange County, California, aborted its attempted landing on an airport runway as a SkyWest plane lifted off from a parallel airstrip to the north.
In the moments after, the Alaska plane steered toward the path of the ascending SkyWest aircraft before veering away from that jetliner amid repeated instructions from an air traffic controller, flight records and audio reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive show.
Alaska Airlines, which confirmed the incident Friday, said its top priority is the safety of its passengers and employees. The airline is reviewing the incident.
“The crew of Flight 1299 followed cockpit indications and reacted immediately to increase separation from the other aircraft,” a spokesperson said. “The aircraft maintained a safe amount of lateral separation throughout the entire event.”
“At no point was the safety of the flight compromised,” SkyWest said in a separate statement Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration will “determine the closest proximity between the aircraft as part of the investigation,” the agency said in a statement Friday. Federal officials define a near midair collision when a plane is within less than 500 feet of another aircraft.
A review of publicly available flight data by The Oregonian/OregonLive found that the Alaska flight was traveling 214 mph and the SkyWest airliner 190 mph. The planes came within about 1,800 feet horizontally and 250 feet vertically, according to estimates by the newsroom.
Airline safety is under scrutiny nationally after a New York Times investigation in August found “an alarming pattern of safety lapses and near misses in the skies and on the runways of the United States.” The FAA in response said the U.S. aviation system is the safest in the world, “but one close call is one too many.” Federal officials listed various steps and investments they are taking to maintain and improve flight safety.
Neither the FAA, Alaska Airlines nor SkyWest publicized the Portland incident. But it drew attention online this week from a YouTube account that posted the flight locations overlapped with air traffic audio. The video has been viewed 59,000 times and includes more than 300 comments analyzing the incident, including from people who claim to have experience in flying and air traffic control.
The incident occurred around 4:15 p.m. Monday, the FAA said. The visibility in Portland was three quarters of a mile, with heavy rain and mist, according to archived weather information from the National Weather Service in Portland. The downpour released a quarter inch of rain around the time the Alaska flight approached the airport.
The plane aborted its landing due to wind, the FAA said, initiating what’s known in the industry as a “go-around.” Flight records show the Alaska flight dropped to an elevation of 100 feet before ascending.
Meanwhile, SkyWest Airlines flight 3978 lifted off from the parallel runway.
Publicly available air traffic control audio reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive provides insight into what transpired next.
An air traffic controller directed the Alaska flight to maintain the “runway heading” path and told the SkyWest flight to turn right when it was able to, according to audio. But the Alaska flight repeats the instruction instead and announces it is heading right, flight data and audio show, while the SkyWest flight continues straight.
The air traffic controller eventually makes multiple attempts to correct the path of the Alaska flight, incorrectly calling the flight 1298 instead of 1299, according to the audio. At one point, he tells the Alaska pilot that there’s traffic ahead and to his right, and it’s northbound at 1,400 feet.
The Alaska plane ultimately turned to its left and the SkyWest plane later banked to the right, avoiding overlapping flight paths.
A union that represents Alaska pilots didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday.
The SkyWest flight, operating as a Delta connection, landed routinely in Seattle, the airline said.
The Alaska flight diverted to the Redmond Airport. A company spokesperson cited the weather conditions in Portland as the reason.
Six other Alaska flights touched down in Portland between 3:51 p.m. and 4:49 p.m., data shows, including two flights within two minutes of the aborted landing.
Alaska flight 1299 didn’t arrive in Portland until 11:45 p.m., flight data shows, more than seven hours later than expected.
It’s unclear how long the federal investigation into the incident will take.
Data analyst Mark Friesen contributed to this report.
— Yesenia Amaro | yamaro@oregonian.com | 503-221-4395 | @YeseniaAmaro