FAA Probes Nashville Near Miss After Southwest Jets Come Within 500 Feet
The FAA is investigating a near miss after two Southwest jets nearly collided over Nashville on Saturday evening during a go-around.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. local time near Nashville International Airport, officials and flight data show. Southwest Flight 507 from Myrtle Beach executed a precautionary go-around because of gusty winds and was instructed by air traffic control to turn right. At the same time, Southwest Flight 1152 was departing to Knoxville from a parallel runway, creating a potential conflict. The Federal Aviation Administration says it opened a probe after controllers' instructions put one aircraft into the other's path.
Preliminary flight data cited by outlets and tracking service FlightRadar24 suggests the planes may have come as close as about 500 feet vertically. Both flight crews received traffic alerts from onboard systems and maneuvered to avoid a potential midair conflict, the FAA said. Southwest praised crew professionalism and stressed that customer and employee safety remain top priorities in a company statement. Aviation safety analyst Robert Sumwalt noted that the Traffic Collision Avoidance System, known as TCAS, is a last line of defense when air traffic control and pilot instructions conflict.
Early reports described crews taking evasive action but did not detail whether air traffic control had placed an aircraft into another's path. Newer coverage by Fox News and CBS's social posts added the FAA admission and FlightRadar24's estimate of roughly 500 feet of vertical separation, shifting focus to controller instructions. Social media amplified the story, with viewers sharing concern about safety and praising the crews who followed traffic-alert guidance to avert disaster. The FAA probe continues, and investigators will review voice and radar data to determine if procedures or controller actions violated safety standards.
đ Key Facts
- The FAA is investigating a near miss after two Southwest jets came within about 500 feet near Nashville International Airport around 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday.
- The aircraft involved were Southwest Flight 507 (from Myrtle Beach), which executed a precautionary go-around due to gusty winds, and departing Southwest Flight 1152 to Knoxville from a parallel runway.
- The FAA says air traffic control instructions put Flight 507 into the path of the departing Flight 1152 on the parallel runway.
- Both flight crews responded to onboard Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) alerts, complied with ATC instructions and the traffic alert, and maneuvered to avoid a potential midair conflict.
- Preliminary data, including FlightRadar24 tracking, indicate roughly 500 feet of vertical separation as Flight 1152 passed over Flight 507 â a distance that may meet the official definition of a near midair collision.
- Southwest issued a formal statement praising the crews' professionalism and emphasizing the airline's focus on customer and employee safety.
- Aviation safety analyst Robert Sumwalt highlighted that the Traffic Collision Avoidance System serves as a last line of defense in such close-call situations.
đ° Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- CBS piece reinforces that an FAA investigation is underway into the Nashville near miss.
- It restates that FAA officials say air traffic control instructions put one Southwest flight into the path of another.
- No materially new numbers, timelines, or procedural details are added beyond confirming the close-call framing.
- Confirms the incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday near Nashville International Airport.
- Details that Southwest Flight 507 from Myrtle Beach executed a go-around due to gusty winds and was instructed to turn right.
- Identifies the departing aircraft as Southwest Flight 1152 to Knoxville taking off from a parallel runway.
- Reports preliminary flight data indicating roughly 500 feet of vertical separation as Flight 1152 passed over Flight 507.
- Includes FAA statement explicitly acknowledging that air traffic control instructions put Flight 507 in the path of another airplane.
- Provides Southwest's formal statement praising crew professionalism and emphasizing customer and employee safety.
- Quotes aviation safety analyst Robert Sumwalt explaining the role of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System as a last line of defense.
- FAA says Southwest Flight 507, during a go-around, received air traffic control instructions that put it in the path of departing Southwest Flight 1152 from a parallel runway.
- Both flight crews responded to onboard traffic-alert systems and maneuvered to avoid a potential midair conflict.
- Southwest states the go-around was precautionary due to gusty winds and that pilots complied with both ATC instructions and the traffic alert.
- FlightRadar24 data cited in the report suggests the aircraft may have come as close as about 500 feet apart vertically, potentially fitting the official definition of a near midair collision.