This is the moment two passenger planes came dangerously close to colliding in mid-air with 400 people on board as they prepared to land at Phoenix airport.
United Airlines Flight 1724 and Delta Air Lines Flight 1070 had been cleared to land on parallel runways when they came incredibly close to each other Saturday morning as they began their descent to the airport.
The planes experienced ‘a loss of required separation’ as they headed to the airport, with flight tracking data showing that at one point they were just 130 meters apart in vertical distance.
Seconds later, they were horizontally within 1,100 feet of each other, which is less than a quarter of a mile, FlightRadar data shows.
Both flight crews received warnings that the other aircraft was in the area and received ‘corrective instructions’ from air traffic control.
Air traffic control ordered the United flight to land on runway 7, while the Delta flight was ordered to change course and land on runway 8.
‘Descend. Descend,” a robotic voice said to the Delta crew, an audio recording obtained by CBS News has revealed.
Both planes landed safely and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the incident.
This is the moment United Airlines Flight 1724 and Delta Air Lines Flight 1070 came dangerously close to a mid-air collision with 400 people on board as they prepared to land at Phoenix airport
The planes experienced ‘a loss of required separation’ as they headed to the airport, with flight tracking data showing that at one point they were just 130 meters apart in vertical distance.
The near collision occurred around 11 a.m. on Saturday, after both planes had been cleared to land.
The United flight, arriving from San Francisco and carrying 123 passengers, descended toward the airport above the Delta plane on its way to the runway.
The Delta flight, inbound from Detroit with 245 passengers on board, was traveling at 275 mph as the United plane approached.
Pilots received an “automated cockpit alert” telling them to change altitude and “act immediately,” a spokesperson told the airline. Independent.
The United plane began climbing and changed altitude before starting to land again, FlightAware data shows.
A Delta spokesperson told the newspaper: “Since nothing is more important than safety, Delta flight crews train extensively to deal with unusual scenarios like this and followed the resolution advisory as directed.”
Justin Giddens, a self-described “aviation nerd” who captured footage of the incident, described the descent as “instant panic mode.”
“I know what pattern the planes should be in as they approach Sky Harbor,” he said KPHO.
“You just think, Oh man, they really avoided a major disaster.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to Delta, United and the FAA for comment.