'We need to turn immediately': 2 close calls at Sky Harbor as FAA deals with staff shortages

For at least the second time this summer at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, two planes came within less than a mile of each other, nearly causing a midair collision — at one point, almost closing a gap of a few hundred feet.

Flight records of the August close call show that both of the planes involved different models of Boeing 737s, with a combined capacity of 315 people. If an accident between the flights occurred, it would have been the largest aviation disaster in the United States, outdoing American Airlines Flight 191, which crashed while departing Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on May 25, 1979, killing 256 passengers and 15 crew.

But close calls are happening across the U.S., and more frequently.

According to an investigation from The New York Times, close calls involving major airlines were happening multiple times a week — the recent close call in Phoenix was one of 46 reported across the United States in the last month. Human error, lack of training and staffing shortages of air traffic controllers were major factors.

In June, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a monthly safety campaign for traffic controllers, aimed at strengthening their proficiency and to reach a goal of "zero close-calls."

In response to the investigation, the FAA said it was working on hiring and training air traffic controllers — and investing $121 million to improve safety at eight major airports — while highlighting that “the U.S. aviation system is the safest in the world."

In June, however, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation released a report that found the FAA made little effort to adequately staff major traffic control facilities across the U.S. and lacked a plan to address this critical issue, posing "a risk to the continuity of air traffic operations."

The Times investigation found that these close calls involved commercial and private airlines alike. The same was the case in Phoenix. The two close calls analyzed by The Arizona Republic involved American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and a private medical transport plane.

June 16: 'American 2133, we need to turn immediately'

The June 16 close call involved three planes approaching Sky Harbor:

• American Airlines Flight 2133 from Newark, New Jersey.

• Private medical transport plane chartered by Elite Medical Transport LLC from El Paso, Texas.

• American Airlines Flight 1083 from Austin, Texas.

Details of the incident were pulled from a recording of the communication between the pilot and the control tower, which is publicly accessible through liveatc.net, and flight tracking information, accessed through Flightaware.com.

During its final descent into Sky Harbor, AA 2133 was directed to land on Runway 8. The private plane, identified as “medevac” in the recording, was also given instructions to approach the airport.

As both flights began to turn toward the airport, AA 1083 was cleared to land on Runway 8, but this instruction was intended for AA 2133.

As the pilot of AA 1083 repeated the call, AA 2133 continued to fly toward the path of the medevac, not having received the clearance to turn and head toward Runway 8.

AA 1083 was cleared to land again, as air traffic controllers had not realized the miscommunication, and AA 2133 continued to fly perpendicular to the airport, still on a direct path toward the medevac.

“American 2133, we need to turn immediately,” the pilot of AA 2133 is heard saying in the recording. After this, the flight was cleared to land by air traffic control. At the same time, an automated alert system notified air traffic control of the close proximity between AA 2133 and the medevac.

According to FAA officials, both planes were at their closest distance only .83 miles apart.

“Both pilots had the other aircraft in sight as they approached Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport,” according to FAA officials.

“050, we have the King Air (medevac) in sight, American 2133 we were never cleared for approach,” the AA 2133 pilot is heard saying.

Air traffic controllers then asked AA 2133 to continue to maintain separation between itself and the medevac. Both flights were thanked by air traffic controllers for maintaining separation from each other.

“American 2133, thanks for the help. I think someone stepped on your readback when I issued the clearance. I think somebody else read it back,” an air traffic controller is heard saying in the recording.

Once AA 2133 landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor, the pilot requested contact with the tower to discuss the incident.

Aug. 7: '2286 if you need to turn left immediately do so'

The Aug. 7 call involved two planes departing Sky Harbor:

• American Airlines Flight 1388 to New York.

• Southwest Airlines Flight 2286 to Austin, Texas.

An air traffic transmission recording of the day of the incident showed that both planes departed Sky Harbor at about 5:07 p.m.

Details of the incident were pulled from a recording of the communication between the pilot and the control tower, which is publicly accessible through liveatc.net, and flight tracking information, accessed through Flightaware.com.

According to the transmission, AA 1388 had been given instructions to depart from Runway 25R and told to turn right after taking off. According to the recording, the pilot of the flight repeated instructions incorrectly, but air traffic controllers failed to catch the mistake.

At the same time, SW 2286 was given instructions to depart from Runway 26, which is parallel to Runway 25R. Both flights were then cleared for takeoff within seconds of each other.

As the planes began their ascent, AA 1388 began to bank left, straight toward the path of SW 2286. Another air traffic controller began to frantically give instructions to both flights alerting them of their proximity.

“Do you have the traffic in sight?” the air traffic controller is heard asking SW 2286. The pilot of SW 2286 then acknowledges seeing AA 1388 within sight. The air traffic controller is heard saying, “2286 if you need to turn left immediately do so.”

“It’s sitting right there, do you see the traffic?” the air traffic controller is heard asking AA 1388.

Both flights came within a third of a mile between each other horizontally, and 300 feet apart vertically, before turning away from each other, avoiding a midair collision.

Understaffed, undertrained to manage pre-pandemic travel, report says

The issue of understaffing is one that is bigger than Phoenix and has been spanning the last five decades since the 1980s, after the Reagan administration replaced thousands of striking air traffic controllers and decertified the once-standing Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization.

According to the report from the Office of Inspector General, since 2012, the number of certified professional air traffic controllers in the United States has been dropping. Eleven years ago, there were 11,753 controllers; now, there are only 10,578.

The report highlighted the fact that 77% of all major FAA facilities are below the agency's 85% staff threshold.

It's complicated: Why didn't Phoenix's historic heat wave ground more Sky Harbor flights?

The staffing shortages, coupled with increased travel mirroring pre-pandemic levels and training halts also caused by the pandemic, are limiting the agency's ability to properly staff its facilities, the report indicated.

The report also admits that the impacts of this slowdown will not be known for several years, as training for new controllers takes three or more years.

“Due to these uncertain training outcomes, FAA cannot ensure it will successfully train enough controllers in the short term,” the report said. “Moreover with veteran controllers leaving for various reasons, including retirements, FAA faces the challenge of ensuring critical facilities have the required number of controllers.”

In a news release from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing air traffic controllers, the organization highlighted the staffing shortages that its union members have experienced.

"Air traffic controllers are doing an exemplary job in a very difficult situation, but this is not sustainable," association President Rich Santa said in the news release.

The union also expressed the need for further hiring and training of new air traffic controllers to curb the number of dangerous close calls across the United States.

"We need a long-term commitment to hiring and training that is based on the controller staffing targets recently developed by the Collaborative Resource Workgroup (CRWG)," Santa said. "NATCA is ready to work with the FAA to implement the CRWG’s recommendations, which is a necessary part of the long-term solution to air traffic controller staffing."

Here's how it happened: Why is Sky Harbor so close to downtown Phoenix?

In both Phoenix close calls, The Republic was directed by Sky Harbor to the FAA for comment, and the agency responded by saying that it was committed to ensuring air traffic safety.

"The FAA and the aviation community are pursuing a goal of zero serious close calls, a commitment from the Safety Summit in March,” a news release said.

According to the FAA, 1,500 hundred controllers have been hired by the agency, adding to the already 2,600 controllers currently being trained across the United States. But according to the Times investigation, more than 1,400 air traffic controllers are expected to retire in the next year.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Near misses between planes more frequent; Phoenix Sky Harbor had 2