The US is investigating the cause of a near miss involving a FedEx airliner in the Southwest

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a hearing on June 6 to determine the probable cause of a February 2023 near miss between a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines jet in Austin, Texas.

The two planes nearly collided when the FedEx Boeing 767 was forced to fly over the Southwest jet in poor visibility to avoid a crash. It was one of at least a half-dozen near misses last year that raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control.

NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said last year the planes came within about 115 feet (35 meters) of each other, which could have been a “terrible tragedy.” The FedEx plane’s first officer saw a single light from the Southwest Boeing 737-700 in the fog and then the plane’s silhouette before the crew aborted their planned landing on the same runway, Homendy said.

An air traffic controller had allowed both aircraft to use the same runway. He told the NTSB in an interview published last year that because of his “expectation bias” that the Southwest planes would leave quickly, he assumed the Southwest plane had already left before the FedEx plane landed.

Homendy said last year that the FedEx plane briefly flew over the Southwest plane as it took off, and then the Southwest jet passed under the FedEx plane as its speed increased on takeoff.

The flight to Cancun (Mexico) heading southwest with 123 passengers and five crew members on board took off safely. There were three crew members on the FedEx plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration has promised to increase air traffic control staff. The FAA said Wednesday it had agreed to delay the implementation of new mandatory rest periods after discussions with the air traffic controllers union.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)