NTSB finds incorrect assumptions by controller in Texas near air collision

The National Transportation Safety Board found incorrect assumptions on the part of an air traffic controller led to the February 2023 near-collision between a FedEx plane and a Southwest Airlines jet in Austin, Texas. The two planes came within about 170 feet (52 m) of each other when the FedEx Boeing 767 was forced to fly over the Southwest 737-700 to avoid a crash in poor visibility conditions. It was one of at least half a dozen near-miss incidents last year that raised concerns about U.S. aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air traffic control. An air traffic controller had cleared both planes to use the same runway. He told the NTSB in an interview released last year he had assumed the Southwest plane would have already departed before the FedEx plane landed given his "expectation bias" that Southwest planes were quick to depart. The NTSB on Thursday found the probable cause of the incident was the controller's incorrect assumption the Southwest airplane would take off before the FedEx plane arrived on the same runway. It also cited lack of situational awareness along with lack of low visibility training and the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to install safety technology.<br/>