The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating a recent close call at San Diego International Airport between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registered N7734H departing for flight WN2493 to San Jose, and a Cessna Citation 560X business jet.
The incident occurred when an air traffic controller cleared the Cessna to land on runway 27 which was already occupied by the Southwest flight waiting in a line-up on the same runway 27. The controller was alerted by an automated surveillance system and instructed the Cessna to abort its landing.
Initial findings indicate that the Cessna passed over the Southwest plane by about 100 feet. This event is part of a series of recent concerning aviation incidents in the US. The FAA is deploying a team to investigate, while Southwest Airlines is cooperating with the review.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating several runway incursion events this year, with similar close-call incidents reported earlier. The FAA has taken steps to improve air traffic control operations and issued safety alerts to address these issues.
