Planes In Near Miss Cleared For Same Runway At Sarasota Airport: NTSB

SARASOTA, FL — Two planes that nearly collided at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport last month were cleared by air traffic controllers to use the same runway, according to a preliminary investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

In the Feb. 16 incident, an Air Canada Rouge A-321 heading to Toronto was cleared for takeoff from Runway 14 at the same time an American Airlines B-737 from Charlotte, North Carolina, was making its final approach and cleared to land on the same runway, the report said.

The American Airlines flight was about 10 miles north of the airport when it was cleared to land on Runway 14, according to the NTSB. When it was about three miles out, the air traffic controller cleared the Air Canada flight for departure from that runway.

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The American Airlines crew initiated a go-around, temporarily forgoing their landing and turning right to avoid a collision, the agency said.

At their closest point, the planes were just .6 miles apart or nearly 3,200 feet, the report said.

There were two pilots, four flight attendants and 188 passengers on the Canada-bound flight, while the flight from North Carolina carried two pilots, four flight attendants and 172 passengers.

There were no injuries and neither plane was damaged during the incident, the report said.

While no cause was given for the incident in the preliminary report, the NTSB has formed a group to investigate the air traffic controllers' actions that led to it.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the Federal Aviation Administration will participate in the investigation.