A potentially disastrous mid-air collision was averted in the early hours of Friday morning when an air traffic controller in Arizona recognized that two American Airlines planes were erroneously assigned the same flight number and were on the same frequency.
The incident occurred as one aircraft was arriving in Phoenix and another was departing. The controller, who has 25 years of experience, noticed the anomaly when both planes contacted him on the same frequency using the identical call sign. He immediately issued instructions to ensure a safe distance between the two aircraft.
Audio from the event captured the controller's quick action. He began differentiating the planes by referring to one as "American 2482 on the arrival" and the other as "American 2482 on the departure." He maintained a vertical separation, keeping the arriving plane above the departing one, even as their flight paths converged. The controller also instructed the departing plane not to climb too steeply to maintain a safe gap.
"I've been working air traffic for 25 years. I've never seen two aircraft pretty much merge with the same call sign. That's incredible," the controller stated, according to audio shared by ATC.com.
The pilots acknowledged the controller's skillful management. The pilot of the arriving aircraft complimented the controller on his "nice work" after the planes had safely passed each other. "It could have been disastrous, but I'm glad it worked out," the controller responded.
An aviation safety expert suggested that the error likely originated within the airline's dispatch center, where the simultaneous presence of two planes with identical flight numbers in the air may have been overlooked during the flight plan approval process. This type of issue is rare, with one expert noting he had only encountered it a couple of times in four decades in the industry.
The flight number in question, 2482, is typically a round-trip route between Chicago and Phoenix, often utilizing the same aircraft. However, in this instance, a weather delay for the flight originating from Chicago necessitated the use of a different aircraft that had been on standby in Phoenix, leading to the unusual overlap.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and American Airlines have launched investigations into how the error occurred. American Airlines stated that "the diligence and professionalism of air traffic controllers and our pilots ensured required separation was always maintained and the issue was identified and addressed. Both flights continued safely and without incident."