FAA Investigating Close Call Between 2 Planes At Major US Airport

Nashville International Airport

Photo: Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that it's investigating a near crash between two Southwest Airlines planes at Nashville International Airport that occurred this past weekend, ABC News reports.

The incident took place at around 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday (April 18) when Southwest Flight 507 was about to land and its pilots "executed a precautionary go-around" amid gusty, Southwest Airlines said. The pilots then "received instructions from air traffic control," putting the plane in the path of Southwest Flight 1152 taking off from a "parallel runway," according to a statement from the FAA.

Pilots from both planes responded to onboard alerts and the aircrafts were right on top of one another with just 500 feet of vertical separation at their closest point, according to FlightRadar24 via ABC News.

"There are multiple alarms that can go off in the cockpit," said ABC News contributor and retired Marine Col. Steve Ganyard. "In this case, it was the most serious of those alarms, telling those pilots, you're on a collision course, you need to move the airplane now."

Flight 507 managed to make a normal landing and Flight 1152 continued its takeoff after the close call, Southwest confirmed in a statement obtained by ABC News.

"Southwest appreciates the professionalism of its Pilots and Flight Crews in responding to the event," the airline said. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees."