Delta Planes Narrowly Avoid Mid-Air Collision

Two Delta Air Lines planes came dangerously close in the skies over Atlanta after a landing aircraft aborted its approach and was accidentally routed toward another Delta jet that had just taken off, according to air traffic control audio and flight-tracking data.

The alarming incident unfolded late Monday evening at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world.

Delta Flight 1568 was arriving from Pittsburgh after storms had already forced the aircraft to divert to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for several hours. As the plane finally approached Atlanta for landing, the pilots spotted another aircraft on the runway and immediately raised concerns with the tower.

“Somebody on the runway?” the pilot asked, according to air traffic control audio from ATC.net.

“He’s exiting now,” the tower responded.

But the pilot of Flight 1568 apparently did not believe the runway would be cleared in time. Rather than continue the landing, the crew made the split-second decision to abort and go around, a maneuver in which a plane climbs away and circles back for another landing attempt.

“Delta 1568, going around,” the pilot radioed.

That is when the situation became even more tense.

At the same time, Delta Flight 2472 had just taken off from a parallel runway. The controller directed that aircraft to turn right and climb to 4,000 feet. Moments later, the crew of Flight 1568 was also told to turn right and climb to 4,000 feet, putting the two Delta planes on a frighteningly close path.

Almost immediately, anti-collision alarms known as resolution advisories sounded inside both cockpits, warning the pilots to take evasive action.

The controller then directed both aircraft away from each other as the crews worked to avoid a possible midair disaster.

At their closest point, the planes were separated by roughly 1,800 feet horizontally and about 600 feet vertically, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24.

Delta later said the crew handled the tense moment according to established safety procedures.

“During the go-around, the flight crew maneuvered in accordance with established procedures while maintaining safe operations,” the airline said in a statement. “Our crews train extensively to handle uncommon scenarios like this.”

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it will investigate the incident.

The close call is now adding to growing concern over near-misses at major U.S. airports, where packed flight schedules, bad weather and split-second air traffic control decisions can quickly turn routine flights into high-stakes emergencies.