A routine approach into one of the nation’s busiest airports turned tense when two aircraft drew dangerously close in the skies above New York.
According to the New York Post, officials say a regional jet headed for John F. Kennedy International Airport came within about 500 feet of a smaller private plane Monday evening, marking another near miss in the already crowded airspace.
The incident occurred around 5:15 p.m. as an Endeavor Air flight—operating as a Delta connection—descended toward the airport. At the time, the jet was flying at roughly 2,100 feet.
Above it, a smaller Cirrus SR22 was recorded at about 2,575 feet as the two aircraft converged on parallel runways.
Air traffic control recordings captured the moment a controller alerted the Delta pilots to the nearby aircraft, warning that a personal plane was just 500 feet overhead.
According to federal officials, the regional jet was on final approach to Runway 22L while the smaller plane crossed over to land on Runway 22R.
“Air traffic control provided traffic advisories to both pilots, and each reported the other in sight. The required separation was maintained,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The Delta-operated flight, identified as Flight 5289, had departed from Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport earlier that day.
Notably, air traffic controllers were not in direct communication with the smaller aircraft at the time of the encounter.
Pilots aboard the regional jet were instructed to hold their position rather than take evasive action, and they confirmed they could see the other plane throughout the approach.
The close proximity has raised concerns, especially as it follows another recent incident near the same airport. Just two weeks earlier, two passenger planes reportedly came within less than 400 feet of each other while approaching JFK.
The latest event also comes on the heels of a separate aviation scare a day earlier, when a United Airlines aircraft struck a bakery truck while landing near Newark Liberty International Airport.
Despite the alarming distance between the planes, officials emphasized that safety protocols were followed and that required separation standards were not violated.
Still, the series of incidents has drawn renewed attention to the challenges of managing increasingly busy airspace around major transportation hubs.
