LOS ANGELES (Azat TV) – An Air France Airbus A350 and an American Airlines passenger jet came within less than a mile horizontally and hundreds of feet vertically of each other over Los Angeles International Airport following an unauthorized turn after takeoff, according to flight-tracking data and air traffic control recordings (Ynetnews). The incident, which occurred shortly after midnight on November 7, 2026, prompted immediate intervention from air traffic control to avert a collision.
Air France Flight AF28, an Airbus A350-900 operating a service to Papeete, French Polynesia, departed from Runway 24L. Approximately a minute later, American Airlines Flight AA1660, an Airbus A321 bound for Dallas-Fort Worth, took off from the parallel Runway 25R. Under assigned departure clearance, the Air France flight was required to climb via the SUMMR2 departure procedure. However, the aircraft made an unexpected left turn shortly after liftoff, placing it directly into the path of the climbing American Airlines jet (Ynetnews).
Air Traffic Control Intervention and Resolution
Recognizing the developing conflict, an air traffic control officer intervened immediately. The controller ordered the Air France crew to execute an immediate heading change to 270 degrees to steer the widebody aircraft back toward the west. Seconds later, a traffic alert was issued to the American Airlines flight, warning of another aircraft directly ahead at a distance of less than a mile and instructing the crew to maintain an altitude of 2,000 feet (Ynetnews).
The American Airlines pilots complied with the descent instructions, while the Air France aircraft turned away, allowing the immediate danger to pass. Both flights subsequently continued safely to their intended destinations with no reported injuries or aircraft damage (Ynetnews). Radio transmissions captured the controller questioning the Air France flight crew about the unexpected deviation from the assigned departure route before advising them of a possible pilot deviation and providing a contact number for official follow-up (Ynetnews).
Flight Data and Runway Context
Analysis of ADS-B flight-tracking data indicated that the two transport-category aircraft closed to within approximately 0.76 nautical miles, or 1.4 kilometers, horizontally. Estimates for their vertical separation during the closest point of the encounter ranged from roughly 300 to 400 feet, or about 90 to 120 meters (Ynetnews).
Industry analysts note that the late-night hours at Los Angeles International Airport involve heavy coordination between long-haul international departures and domestic traffic utilizing closely spaced parallel runways (Skyflashes). This incident follows similar navigation deviations from Runway 24L at the airport, including a TAP Air Portugal flight on October 20 and an ITA Airways flight on October 31, 2025 (Ynetnews). Aviation authorities have not established a formal link between these occurrences, and no official findings explaining the root causes of the latest deviation have yet been released (Ynetnews).