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Air Canada jet forced to abort landing after near miss with American Airlines plane at JFK
An Air Canada Express flight and an American Airlines-operated regional jet were forced to abort their landings at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday after coming within a few hundred feet of one another.
The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m., when Republic Airways Flight 4464, operating as American Airlines, deviated from its assigned approach path toward Runway 31L.
Jazz Aviation Flight 554, operating for Air Canada, had been cleared to land on the neighbouring runway 31R and was approaching at the same time.
Yesterday, AA4464 was cleared to land RWY31L at JFK, while AC8554 was cleared 31R. AA4464’s turn to runway heading brought it close enough to AC8554 that both aircraft responded to TCAS RAs and went around. The flights landed safely a short time later. https://t.co/SbHFzBJidw pic.twitter.com/7yZTsb2pzX
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 21, 2026
Both crews responded to advisories from air traffic controllers. At their closest point, the two aircraft were separated by just 350 feet vertically and 0.62 miles horizontally.
In audio obtained by an ABC News affiliate , a controller tells the American Airlines flight: “Brickyard 44 you’re flying through the approach course on Runway 31 Left. Correct immediately. You have traffic in the immediate vicinity.”
The jet initiated a go-around, a standard safety maneuver in which pilots abort a landing attempt and climb back into the air to reposition for another approach.
The Air Canada flight was also instructed to climb to 3,000 feet as the American jet drifted into its path.
The air traffic control audio captured anti-collision alarms sounding in both the tower and cockpit.
Both flights landed safely following the close call.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident, and said in a statement: “The crew of Republic Airways Flight 4464 performed a go-around at John F. Kennedy International Airport after missing the intended approach path and flying too close to Jazz Aviation Flight 554, which was cleared to land on a parallel runway. Both flight crews responded to onboard alerts.”
A spokesperson for Air Canada told National Post in an email: “On approach into New York (JFK), Flight 8554 en route from Toronto (YYZ), the flight crew received a traffic warning notification and resolution as well as direction from ATC – and the crew took immediate action. Safety is our top priority and our crews are well-trained to deal with many operational situations such as this. The flight landed safely at JFK.”
The incident occurred one month after a deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport involving an Air Canada Express aircraft and a fire truck, which killed the plane’s two pilots.
Meanwhile, Air Canada last week announced plans to suspend flights from Montreal and Toronto to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport between June 1 and Oct. 25, owing to the climbing cost of jet fuel.
Oil prices have increased dramatically due to the conflict in Iran, which has seen movement through the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s oil passes through — restricted for weeks.
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Unpublished Newswire
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