The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after an Air France jet turned into the path of an American Airlines flight shortly after take-off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on 7 November. A controller warned the American pilots that the other aircraft was less than a mile ahead. Both flights landed safely, with no injuries reported.
The incident occurred at around 12:20 am local time. Air France flight 28, an Airbus A350 bound for Papeete on the island of Tahiti, turned south after leaving Los Angeles. Moments later, air traffic control cleared American Airlines flight 1660, an Airbus A321 bound for Dallas Fort Worth in Texas, to take off from a parallel runway.
“The crew of Air France Flight 28 made an unauthorised turn after departing Los Angeles International Airport and went into the path of another aircraft that departed from a parallel runway,” said FAA in a preliminary statement.
NEW: Air France Airbus A350 came dangerously close to an American Airlines A321 on departure from Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday. In the ATC audio clip the controller questioned the Air France pilots about why they had failed to follow the assigned departure route. The pilots confirmed that they had been instructed to fly the SUMMR 2 departure.
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) November 8, 2026
Radio communications captured by ATC.com reveal the instructions the controller gave each crew as the two aircraft converged. The controller directed the Air France pilots to turn immediately to a heading of 270 degrees, taking them west.
The American Airlines pilots, meanwhile, received a warning that the Air France jet was directly ahead. “Traffic alert, traffic 12 o’clock, less than a mile, maintain 2,000,” the controller told them. At their closest, the aircraft were about 4,000 feet apart, with less than 1,000 feet between them in altitude, according to data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24.
In a subsequent radio exchange, the controller asked the Air France pilots why they had turned and reminded them that their clearance called for a climb along the assigned departure route. When asked which procedure they were following, one pilot replied, “Give me a minute.” The crew then identified their assigned route as the SUMMR TWO departure, People reported.
“Sorry about that,” the air traffic controller told the American pilots. “That aircraft just turned in front of you. They were instructed they were on the right departure, but you know, pilot deviation.”
The controller advised the Air France crew of a possible pilot deviation, a term used when a pilot acts contrary to an air traffic control instruction.
On 7 Nov, an Air France A350 departed 24L at LAX as an American A321 departed 25R. The Air France aircraft reportedly deviated from its assigned departure. Closest point was 08:17:59 UTC, with 0.694 nautical miles (1,285 metres) of lateral separation and 1,000 feet vertically. https://t.co/Kwc40d9czZ
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 8, 2026
Air France told Los Angeles broadcaster KTLA that its crew had followed the controller’s instruction to change course immediately and that the flight had continued to Tahiti. The airline said the aircraft landed normally in Papeete at 5:59 am local time. Its statement did not give a reason for the initial turn.
The incident follows another close call at LAX in April, when two trucks crossed in front of a Frontier Airlines jet. In a radio exchange, the pilot told the tower he had braked sharply to avoid hitting the vehicles. “It happened so fast,” the pilot continued. “I had to go check on the flight attendants in the back. It was real close, the closest I’ve ever seen,” the pilot said in audio posted by ATC.com.
