An Air France Airbus A350 came within about 400 feet of an American Airlines Airbus A321 shortly after both took off from Los Angeles International Airport early Saturday, after the Air France crew made an unauthorized turn into the other jet’s path.
Air France Flight AF28, bound for Papeete, French Polynesia, departed from runway 24L at 12:15 a.m. on a departure procedure that called for it to fly straight out over the Pacific. Instead, the crew turned left, toward the path of American Airlines Flight AA1660, which had taken off a minute earlier from the parallel runway 25R, bound for Dallas–Fort Worth.
The two jets came within roughly 300 to 400 feet of each other vertically and less than a mile apart horizontally, setting off a traffic alert.
A SoCal Departure controller quickly spotted the conflict and instructed both crews to turn away from each other, while holding the American jet at 2,000 feet.
The controller then questioned the Air France pilots about the deviation. Asked why they had turned, and which departure they had been told to fly, the crew twice replied, “Standby.” The pilots were later given a phone number to call regarding a possible pilot deviation, a step that can lead to an FAA investigation.
Both flights continued to their destinations, and no injuries were reported. Air France did not respond to requests for comment.
