By David Shepardson

(Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated on Saturday it’s investigating a close to collision between a Southwest Airways (NYSE:) Boeing (NYSE:) 737 and a Cessna Quotation enterprise jet in San Diego, the most recent in a sequence of troubling U.S. aviation incidents.

The FAA stated its preliminary overview reveals that simply earlier than 12 p.m. PDT on Friday, an air visitors controller at San Diego Worldwide Airport cleared the Quotation to land on a sure runway despite the fact that Southwest Airways Flight 2493 had already been instructed to taxi onto the identical runway and await directions to depart. The power’s automated floor surveillance system alerted the controller concerning the creating state of affairs and the controller directed the Cessna to discontinue touchdown.

An individual briefed on the matter stated the preliminary overview reveals the Cessna handed excessive of the Southwest airplane by about 100 toes. The FAA is sending a crew to the ability to analyze.

Southwest stated on Saturday it’s collaborating within the FAA’s overview of the incident. “Our plane departed with out occasion and the flight operated usually, with a secure touchdown in San Jose as scheduled,” the airline stated.

The Nationwide Transportation Security Board is investigating six runway incursion occasions since January.

An identical near-collision incident occurred in February in Austin, Texas, when a FedEx (NYSE:) cargo airplane and a Southwest Boeing 737 got here inside about 115 toes (35 meters) in poor visibility situations. The controller had cleared the FedEx airplane to land and the Southwest airplane to depart.

On Thursday, the NTSB cited the failure of a Lear (NYSE:) 60 constitution pilot to get a takeoff clearance in a February incident in Boston that resulted in a near-collision with a JetBlue flight.

The NTSB stated the airport floor detection tools issued an alert, and the air visitors controller gave go-around directions to the JetBlue flight.

The JetBlue Embraer 190 was simply 30 toes (9.1 m) above floor when it broke off the touchdown “near the purpose the place each runways intersected,” the NTSB stated, including the Boston tower instructed the constitution pilot the JetBlue flight handed about 400 toes above them.