Two passengers aboard a United Airlines flight were injured when their plane, bound for San Francisco, slowed its descent to avoid a midair collision on Sept. 19, the airline said on Tuesday.
United Flight 2428 from Newark, New Jersey, responded to an onboard alert at around 12.45 p.m. local time within Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center Airspace that “another aircraft was in the vicinity,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told The Epoch Times.
The plane was descending with the seatbelt sign on but “slowed its descent to account for another aircraft at a lower altitude,” the airline said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. The flight landed safely at San Francisco International Airport.
Two passengers reported “possible injuries” and were taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the airline. It stated that one of the injured passengers was not seated at the time of the incident.
“We’re grateful to our crew for their efforts to ensure the safety of our employees and customers,” the airline said.
The total number of passengers and crew members aboard the flight was unclear. An FAA incident report showed that one passenger sustained a serious injury, while another suffered a minor injury.
The FAA said “there was no loss of safe separation” and that it has launched an investigation into the incident, which its report has classified as an accident.
This followed another incident earlier this month involving two Delta Air Lines planes. A Delta Airbus A350 was taxiing for departure to Tokyo at Atlanta’s airport on Sept. 10 when its wingtip collided with the tail of a CRJ-900 regional jet operated by Endeavor Airlines—a Delta subsidiary—which was bound for Lafayette, Louisiana.
Delta said the collision damaged the tail of the regional jet and the wing of the A350. Passengers were sent back to the terminal, but there were no injuries reported following the incident. The airline said the aircraft had been relocated to maintenance hangars for evaluation.
On Sept. 12, Alaska Airlines Flight 369 immediately braked and aborted its takeoff after Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 was cleared to cross the end of the same runway at Nashville International Airport.
The FAA stated that the tires on the Alaska plane blew out after the pilot braked to a rapid stop to prevent a possible collision with the Southwest plane. The airline reported that no injuries resulted from the incident and that the plane will undergo inspections.
