Private jet took 'evasive action' to avoid a fighter plane at Austin airport, FAA says

The pilot of a private jet made an evasive maneuver to steer clear of a military fighter plane last month as both attempted to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said Wednesday.

On Sept. 23, the pilot of the Cessna Citation jet took evasive action after receiving an onboard proximity alert about the nearby fighter, an F-18. The fighter also flew near a light, propeller-powered plane that was preparing for takeoff on a nearby runway.

How close the aircraft got to each other is not clear. The FAA will determine the closest proximity as part of its investigation, Crystal Essiaw, an FAA spokesperson, said in a statement to the American-Statesman.

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The private jet was cleared to land by air traffic controllers as an F-18 approached the airport around 12 p.m., according to air traffic recordings archived by LiveATC.net and reviewed by the Statesman. The fighter, using the call sign Snake21, asked air controllers for permission to perform a break, an aerial move that involves making a sharp turn to reduce speed before landing.

About half a minute later, seemingly after the fighter and private plane passed each other, an unidentified voice can be heard over the radio: "That would have been nice to know, guy."

Shortly after the remark, an air traffic controller comes over the radio, saying he expected the F-18 to start its descent at a different point in the break maneuver, not before it.

The military pilot responded. “Negative. I requested altitude, airspeed (at) my discretion for the break. Misunderstanding I suppose.”

Minutes later, the military pilot comes over the radio again, asking for a phone number to call and discuss the incident.

“Yeah, I was going to give you the number here because I guess there was a miscommunication. I misunderstood what was requested, I guess,” an air controller responded before providing the pilot with the phone number to call the tower.

Last month's two near-misses, first detailed by The Washington Post, come after the city-ran airport was the backdrop of two other close calls so far this year.

In June, the FAA said it was investigating a near miss when an Allegiant jet making a landing came near a small plane.

In February, a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines were less than 200 feet away from each other, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident. That near miss has garnered particular national attention as one of several recent examples of near-misses at US airports.

An NTSB spokesperson on Wednesday deferred questions about the Sept. 23 close call to the FAA, saying the NTSB was not investigating that incident.

Which military branch the fighter belonged to and the rationale for its landing at Austin's airport is not clear. The FAA did not answer those questions.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: FAA investigates near-collision between jet, F-18 at Austin airport