Delta flight aborts landing after warning about another plane

• The FAA is investigating a near miss at Boston Logan International Airport on June 20.
• A Delta Air Lines flight aborted its landing because another aircraft was departing from an intersecting runway.
• Delta pilots performed a "go-around," which is a safe and routine procedure.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near miss that occurred at Boston Logan International Airport on June 20.

According to the agency, Delta Air Lines flight 2351 from Dallas was forced to abort its landing in Boston because another aircraft was departing from an intersecting runway.

"The crew of Delta Air Lines Flight 2351 executed a go-around at Boston Logan International Airport because another aircraft was departing from an intersecting runway. The FAA is investigating the event which occurred around 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, June 20," a statement from the FAA said.

The agency emphasized that go-arounds are safe, routine procedure performed at the discretion of the pilots.

Experts have warned that a high number of close calls could signal eroding safety in aviation, but the FAA previously told USA TODAY it is working to become more proactive about preventing incidents.

The conflicting aircraft appears to be American Airlines flight 3161, which was departing Boston for Charlotte, North Carolina around the time the Delta flight was coming in to land. Neither American Airlines nor the FAA confirmed the details of the other flight involved, but data from FlightRadar24 shows AA3161 taking off from an intersecting runway at the same time DL2351 was preparing to land.

"As nothing is more important than safety, the flight crew of Delta flight 2351 followed established procedures in coordination with Air Traffic Control and performed a go around on approach into Boston-Logan and landed safely," a statement from Delta said, emphasizing that pilots received an alert from an onboard traffic conflict monitoring system, and adding that pilots receive rigorous training in how to respond to such alerts.

Saturday's incident appears to closely mirror a 2023 incident when a JetBlue plane was landing at Boston on a runway that intersected one where a private jet was beginning its takeoff roll. The private jet did not have takeoff clearance in that case.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at [email protected].