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An Alaska Airlines 737 and a FedEx 777 cargo plane nearly collided while both were attempting to land on intersecting runways at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to data shared by FlightRadar24 via ABC News.
The incident took place at around 8:17 p.m. on Tuesday (March 17) when the Alaska flight was arriving from Portland, Oregon, and the FedEx plane came from its primary global super-hub in Memphis, Tennessee. Air traffic control told the Alaska Airlines plane to go around as it was about 150 feet in the air and seconds from touching down, while the FedEx plane continued to land on an intersecting runway, according to audio and FlightRadar24 data.
Preliminary data from Flightradar24 shows that the Alaska Airlines plane was within 300 to 325 feet of the FedEx plane at the time of the near collision.
"An air traffic controller instructed Alaska Airlines Flight 294 to perform a go-around at Newark International Airport because FedEx Flight 721 was cleared for the final approach to an intersecting runway. The FAA is investigating," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement obtained by ABC News.
FedEx and Alaska Airlines also issued statements regarding the incident.
"Following instructions from air traffic control, the flight crew of FedEx flight 721 landed safely without incident at Newark Liberty International Airport Tuesday," FedEx said.
"Air traffic control issued a go around to our aircraft, which our pilots are highly trained for," Alaska Airlines said.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it was investigating the near collision.