BOSTON — Federal aviation officials are investigating a close call between two commercial airliners at Boston Logan International Airport after a Delta Air Lines flight was forced to abort its landing to avoid a potential conflict with an American Airlines aircraft departing on an intersecting runway.
The incident occurred Saturday morning and involved Delta Flight 2351 arriving from Dallas and an American Airlines flight preparing for departure. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Delta aircraft executed a go-around—a standard aviation maneuver in which pilots discontinue a landing attempt and climb away from the runway—after air traffic controllers identified a potential runway conflict. The Delta flight later landed safely, and no injuries were reported.
The close call has attracted significant attention after aviation safety experts reviewing publicly available flight-tracking data estimated that the two aircraft may have come within approximately 300 feet of each other at their closest point. While federal investigators have not yet released an official separation figure, the estimate has raised concerns because commercial aircraft are normally kept much farther apart during takeoff and landing operations.
Aviation expert Todd Curtis, a former Boeing safety engineer, described the incident as significant due to the involvement of two commercial airline crews operating in one of the nation’s busiest airspace environments. The FAA has launched an investigation to determine exactly what occurred and whether any procedural, communication, or operational factors contributed to the event.
The incident is the latest in a series of high-profile aviation close calls that have prompted renewed scrutiny of airport and air traffic control operations across the United States. Boston Logan has experienced several notable runway-incursion incidents over the past two decades, including a widely discussed 2023 event in which a JetBlue aircraft was forced to take evasive action when a business jet entered an intersecting runway without clearance. Aviation experts have frequently pointed to Logan’s intersecting runway layout as a factor that requires particularly careful coordination between pilots and controllers.
While near-collisions involving commercial aircraft remain rare, federal officials have increasingly focused on runway incursions and loss-of-separation events. Recent hearings in Washington have examined ways to strengthen safety procedures, improve technology, and address staffing concerns within the nation’s air traffic control system. The latest Boston incident is expected to become part of that broader discussion as investigators work to determine whether additional safeguards may be needed.
For passengers aboard the Delta flight, the event likely felt dramatic. However, aviation experts emphasize that go-arounds are a routine safety procedure and are regularly practiced by airline crews. The maneuver is specifically designed to prevent accidents by giving pilots and controllers additional time and space to resolve potential conflicts. In this case, the system functioned as intended, allowing both aircraft to continue operating safely despite the unusually close encounter.
The FAA has not announced when its investigation will be completed. Officials are expected to review radar data, air traffic control communications, flight crew actions, and airport operations before issuing any findings or recommendations.
This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI).