The pilot of a Southwest flight from Phoenix to John Wayne Airport initiated a go-around after telling the tower that the pilot of a smaller airplane flew close to the commercial jet on Wednesday evening, May 13, according to air traffic communications.
The close encounter occurred sometime around 6:30 p.m. as the Southwest jet, a Boeing 737, was preparing to land at the airport, according to what can be heard on air traffic control audio archives.
“That guy was really close to us,” the Southwest pilot radioed to the tower, with an air traffic controller confirming he heard the message. About 10 seconds later, the Southwest pilot told the tower he would go around.
A go-around is where a pilot aborts a landing on final approach, applies power, and climbs back into the air.
It was not immediately known exactly how close the planes were.
“We were on final approach, pretty low, when suddenly, the gal next to us gasped, and the people behind us said, ‘What?’ ” said Art Smith, a passenger on the Southwest plane, in an interview on Thursday.
The 70-year-old Aliso Viejo resident, who was traveling with his wife, said the plane then immediately began regaining altitude.
Though Smith did not see the other aircraft himself, he said passengers behind him reported seeing a twin-engine plane nearby.
“It was close enough that the gal next to us could see the pilot in the plane,” he said. Actually, he added, she said she could see the pilot’s face.
There were no reports of any trouble with any airplanes landing on the two runways, which run parallel to each other.
Data from FlightAware, a third-party flight tracker, indicated the Southwest flight landed safely just before 6:40 p.m. The plane had taken off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport at around 5:33 p.m.
A spokesman for the FAA said it would look into the possible near-miss on Friday.
Go-arounds are not unusual and can be done for various reasons.
“Last night, Southwest Airlines Flight 4633 landed safely at Orange County (SNA) after the pilots performed a routine go-around procedure,” Ashley Bain, a Southwest spokeswoman, said in an email. She did not elaborate about the incident.
“It won’t stop us from flying,” Smith, the passenger, said. “I just chalk it up to one of those things that happens from time to time.”
On March 26, a near miss at the airport was reported after a military helicopter crossed in front of a United Airlines flight with 162 passengers on board as the airplane made its final approach to the runway at about 8:40 p.m., according to the FAA. The United Airlines flight continued its descent into Santa Ana, landing safely about 3 minutes later.
The near miss in March occurred about eight miles north of the runway, said AnnaSophia Servin, a spokesperson for John Wayne Airport.
Servin could not be reached for comment on Thursday.