FAA investigating incident between 3 aircraft over DFW amid severe weather

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident in the skies of Dallas-Fort Worth in which three planes came too close together during severe weather March 16.

According to a statement from the FAA, two cargo planes and a passenger plane encountered “a loss of standard separation” while in holding patterns above DFW around 6:10 p.m. March 16. A FedEx Boeing 767, a UPS Boeing 747 and a United Airlines Boeing 737 flights broke the standard separation of aircraft the FAA considers safe.

The aviation administration said its investigation is still in the preliminary stages and that information may change as more details are discovered.

It started with the FedEx flight receiving an automated alert from a Traffic Collision Avoidance System aboard the aircraft because of its proximity to the UPS flight. In response, the FedEx plane descended into a 1,000-foot vertical safety buffer between it and the United Airlines flight.

The United Airlines flight then received an alert and also descended.

At no time did the three aircraft come closer than 1 mile apart laterally, according to the FAA.

The alerts the planes received did not indicate a imminent collision but instead warned that flight paths could create a potential conflict, according to the FAA.