FAA Investigates LAX Runway Turn That Brought Air France Jet Near American Airlines Flight
An Airbus A350 deviated from its assigned departure path, forcing a controller to halt the climb of a nearby American Airlines jet.
By Marta Gray ·
Los Angeles International Airport has seen a pattern of unexpected maneuvers in recent months. On Saturday, November 7, the Federal Aviation Agency opened an investigation into an incident where an Air France jet veered toward an American Airlines aircraft shortly after takeoff.
The specific sequence began shortly after midnight on November 7. Air France Flight 28, an Airbus A350-900 headed to Tahiti, departed Runway 24L. About one minute later, American Airlines Flight 1660, an Airbus A321 bound for Dallas-Fort Worth, took off from the adjacent Runway 25R. Flight-tracking data shows the Air France aircraft subsequently turned left into the departure path of the American Airlines jet.
Radio communications reveal the immediate actions taken by air traffic control. A controller instructed the Air France crew to fly a heading of 270 immediately. The controller then warned the American Airlines pilots of traffic directly ahead, less than a mile away, and ordered them to maintain an altitude of 2,000 feet. The American Airlines crew abandoned their planned climb to a higher altitude to comply with the instruction.
Data from flight-tracking provider AIRLIVE indicates the two aircraft came within 0.76 nautical miles horizontally. At another point in the encounter, they were separated vertically by 300 feet while 1.6 nautical miles apart horizontally. The FAA has not yet released official measurements of the minimum separation. The controller questioned the Air France crew about the turn, noting they were instructed to climb via the SUMMR TWO departure procedure. The crew confirmed this procedure but did not explain the cause of the deviation in the available audio.
This incident mirrors a close call that occurred on October 31, 2025. An ITA Airways Airbus A330-900 departing for Rome turned left toward an American Airlines Airbus A321 headed to New York. Flight-tracking data showed those two aircraft came within 0.6 nautical miles horizontally at the same altitude. Controllers also ordered the American Airlines jet to stop climbing at 1,500 feet during that event.
A third incident involving an unexpected turn occurred on October 20. A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330-900 bound for Lisbon made an unexpected left turn after climbing through 1,000 feet. The crew later turned right after being instructed to turn left. The FAA stated that the TAP incident has not been established as a near-collision, though it shares the same runway origin as the other two events.
Air France confirmed the incident and stated its crew adjusted the flight path shortly after takeoff. The aircraft landed in Tahiti at 5:59 a.m. local time without reported injuries. The FAA is still investigating why the pilots deviated from their assigned route and whether either aircraft received an onboard collision avoidance warning.
