Audio reveals tense moments as departing, landing planes get close: ‘Who’s cleared to take off?’
Air traffic control audio released this week revealed a tense moment when an American Eagle pilot getting ready to land asked what flight had been cleared for take off on the same runway before being forced to go around the airport.
"Delta 5421. Ready for the sky. Runway 2-8 ready for takeoff," a Delta Connection pilot with 76 passengers onboard said on Monday morning at Syracuse Hancock International Airport around 11:50 a.m. before an air traffic controller said he was cleared for take off.
"Wait, who’s cleared to take off on 2-8?" American Eagle Flight 5511’s pilot, who was coming into the airport with 75 passengers, asked.
Air traffic control then told the American Eagle pilot to "go around."
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"An air traffic controller instructed PSA Airlines 5511 to go around at Syracuse Hancock International Airport to keep it separated from an aircraft that was departing on the same runway," a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Fox News Digital.
The FAA said it would "determine the closest proximity of the aircraft as part of the ongoing investigation."
The planes came within 700 to 1,000 feet of each other, according to FlightRadar24. That is the equivalent of about two football fields.
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Delta told Fox News Digital in a statement: "Endeavor Air and Delta will work with aviation authorities as we always do in our shared commitment to [put] safety above all else." Delta is Endeavor’s parent company.
The airport said there were no disruptions to operations on Monday.
The incident comes after a record-breaking week of summer holiday travel with the FAA revealing that TSA officers set a record of the most travelers screened in a single day on July 7, the Sunday of the Fourth of July weekend.
In total, 3,013,413 travelers were screened at checkpoints nationwide, surpassing the previous record set just two weeks before on June 23.
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The Delta Connection flight eventually landed at LaGuardia Airport on time without any issues and the American Eagle flight landed at the Syracuse airport after going around.