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NTSB, FAA investigating close call between flights at Florida airport

An American Airlines passenger jet cleared to land and an Air Canada flight cleared for takeoff on the same runway nearly collided in mid-February at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. NTSB and FAA are now investigating the close call. (Getty Images)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating a close call between two flights at a Florida airport last month. 

In mid-February, an Air Canada flight was cleared for takeoff on the same runway that an American Airlines flight was cleared to land on at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, according to NTSB.

The two jets were about 3,100 feet apart when the American Airlines jet discontinued its landing and “began its climb-out,” after an air traffic controller advised the flight crew that Air Canada was departing, the FAA said in a statement.  

The incident follows a recent series of close calls at U.S. airports. The NTSB and the FAA are also both investigating a Feb. 27 incident, in which a private charter jet nearly collided with a JetBlue plane.

The private jet reportedly took off without clearance at Boston Logan International Airport while a JetBlue flight was preparing to land on an intersecting runway, according to the FAA.

A near crash between two passenger planes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in mid-January has also triggered investigations from both agencies. A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to stop its takeoff from the New York airport midway because an American Airlines flight was crossing the runway, the FAA said.