Two Planes Nearly Collide in Mid-Air After United and Delta Flights Experience ‘Loss of Required Separation’

Mar. 15, 2025

Airline passengers waiting for their flights watch from the terminal as a United Airlines airplane takes off at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.Photo:Robert Alexander/Getty

Robert Alexander/Getty

A Delta Airlines flight and a United Airlines flight narrowly missed colliding near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport over the weekend.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is investigating the incident, told PEOPLE in a statement that the near-miss happened on Saturday, Jan. 11 at around 11 a.m. when Delta Air Lines Flight 1070 and United Airlines Flight 1724 experienced “a loss of required separation."

The incident has prompted the FAA to begin an investigation into how the passenger jets got so close to each other to begin with.

Aerial view of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on January 6, 2020.DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty

DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty

The Delta Airlines flight was an Airbus A330-300 coming in from Detroit, while the United Airlines flight was a Boeing 737-900 coming in from San Francisco, according to local news outletKPNX. The flights had 245 passengers and 123 passengers and six crew members, respectively.

United Airlines said in a statement to PEOPLE that while preparing to land at Phoenix, the plane got “an automatic flight deck warning to change their altitude,” which prompted the pilots to act “immediately” and land the plane “safely.” It added that it was working with the FAA on its investigation.

Delta added in a statement to PEOPLE, “As nothing is more important than safety, Delta flight crews extensively train to handle uncommon scenarios such as this and followed the resolution advisory as directed.”

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“It was immediate panic mode,” Giddens recalled. “I know the way the planes are supposed to be in the pattern on approach to Sky Harbor. So the big and the small plane kind of make it look like they were a lot further apart, [but] it was very, very close.”

He added that he didn’t think a collision was likely to occur thanks to the clear weather conditions at the time.

source: people.com