Two commercial passenger planes had a midair scare Saturday morning over Phoenix after coming dangerously close to contact while preparing to land.
Cockpit warnings were triggered within the United Airlines and Delta Air Lines flights as they descended into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport around 11 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Both planes experienced “a loss of required separation” but landed safely, said the FAA, which is investigating the incident. “Air traffic control issued corrective instructions to both flight crews.”
A recording of the air traffic control, obtained by LiveATC.net, captured an automated “descend, descend” in the Delta flight’s cockpit as it prepared to land.
Delta’s flight, an Airbus A330-300, was carrying 245 customers from Detroit, while United’s, a Boeing 737-900, had 123 passengers and six crew members from San Francisco, the airlines said.
Video taken from the ground by a plane spotter captured the planes buzzing past one another in the sky.
“It was immediate panic mode,” Justin Giddens, who shot the video, told Arizona Family. “I know the way the planes are supposed to be in the pattern on approach to Sky Harbor … it was very, very close.”
Both planes at one point came within 1,200 feet horizontally from one another and at another point 425 feet vertically, according to flight tracking data from the website Flightradar24.
A Delta spokesperson stressed in a statement to HuffPost that nothing is more important than safety.
“Delta flight crews extensively train to handle uncommon scenarios such as this and followed the resolution advisory as directed,” they said.
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A United spokesperson said they are “working with the FAA on its investigation.”