NEW YORK- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently investigating a potential close call involving a Southwest (WN) flight and the air traffic control (ATC) tower at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA), CBS News has reported.
The incident occurred around 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, when pilots of Southwest Flight WN147 decided to abort their initial approach due to adverse weather conditions. During their second attempt to land, the flight may have veered off course, prompting an air traffic controller to urgently instruct the pilots of the Boeing 737 to “go around” and ascend to 2,000 feet.
Southwest Close Call with LaGuardia ATC
According to recordings from liveatc.net, the air traffic controller can be heard saying, “Go around! Go around! Fly runway heading, climb, and maintain 2,000. Climb and maintain 2,000. 2,000.”
The aircraft had apparently deviated eastward and was no longer aligned with the runway. Initial flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated that the airliner was at an altitude of 300 feet when it began ascending. The FAA stated that it is investigating to determine whether the off-course aircraft flew over the 233-foot tall air traffic control tower.
According to Flightradar24’s flight tracker map, the plane was positioned over the terminal building rather than the runway. Based on Flightradar24’s estimated trajectory, it seems the aircraft passed over the parking garage immediately adjacent to the air traffic control tower.
The same controller informed the pilots a few minutes later that their aircraft “was not aligned with the runway at all. It was like east of final. He was not gonna land on the runway.”
The airline confirmed that 147 passengers and six crew members were aboard the flight from Nashville.
Official Remarks
Southwest informed CBS News that they are currently “reviewing the event as part of our Safety systems.” The airline explained that the aircraft experienced turbulence and poor visibility during its approach to LGA.
Southwest Flight 147 opted to temporarily divert to Baltimore/Washington International Airport due to the adverse weather conditions, where it safely landed. Subsequently, it proceeded to land safely in New York.
The severe weather conditions led to other flights also executing go-arounds at LaGuardia, including JetBlue (B6) Flight B6698, which was attempting to land around the same time. The pilots of that flight reported encountering wind shear.
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