Air France and American Airlines planes nearly collide after taking off from LAX

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a near midair collision at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after an Air France jet turned into the path of an American Airlines plane shortly after both took off early on Saturday.

The close call happened at about 12.20am on November 7, according to the FAA. Both aircraft continued safely to their destinations.

Air France Flight 28, an Airbus A350-900 bound for Papeete in Tahiti, departed from runway 24L. About a minute later, American Airlines Flight 1660, an Airbus A321-200 heading to Dallas, took off from the parallel runway 25R, according to Flightradar24.

Shortly after departure, the Air France aircraft reportedly deviated from its assigned departure procedure. Air traffic controllers stepped in at once. Audio recordings from LAX show the Air France crew being told to turn right and return to their original path, while the American Airlines flight was told to reduce altitude to avoid a possible collision.

“Air France 028 heavy, fly heading 270 immediately,” the controller said in audio captured by ATC.com. “You were instructed to climb… not turn to a heading.”

The controller later apologised to the American Airlines crew. “That aircraft just turned in front of you,” the controller said, adding that the Air France crew had been told they were on the right departure, “but you know, pilot deviation.”

“Air traffic control immediately issued corrective instructions to the Air France flight,” the FAA said in a statement.

Accounts of the separation between the two aircraft differ. Flightradar24 recorded the closest point at 08:17:59 UTC, with 0.694 nautical miles (1,285 metres) of lateral separation and 1,000 feet of vertical separation. Another account of flight tracking data put the vertical gap at about 400 feet.

The FAA is investigating the LAX near miss. Both aircraft completed their flights without further incident.