Southwest planes take evasive action after air traffic control error sends jets on collision course

Nbcwashington · Apr 21, 2026 · 503 words · By Josh Funk; The Associated Press

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What to know about Southwest planes take evasive action after air traffic control error sends jets on collision course

Two Southwest Airlines planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee, after an air traffic controller directed one pilot to turn into the path of the other plane.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Last year, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

Common ground

29, 2025, put the spotlight on midair collisions, which are rare in commercial flights where the planes are equipped with systems to alert pilots about a potential collision.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Southwest planes take evasive action after air traffic control error sends jets on collision course?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Location data from these two planes show their flight paths converging after one pilot decided to abort landing and circle around to try again?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/southwest-airlines-pla…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

schedule Pending 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “Location data from these two planes show their flight paths converging after one pilot decided to abort landing and circle around to try again.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that location data showed paths converging after one pilot performed a go-around (aborted landing).

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web search NEUTRAL — Location data from these two planes show their flight paths converging after one pilot decided to abort landing and circle around to try again.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-southwest-airlines-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Key Points. Two Southwest jets narrowly avoided collision near Nashville airport during a go-around maneuver. Aviation safety systems, including TCAS and trained pilots, prevented disaster through rap…
https://parade.com/news/southwest-planes-nearly-collide-over…

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web search NEUTRAL — Southwest Airlines said Flight 507 had aborted its landing to try again, known as a go-around, because of gusty winds. While doing so, the company said in a statement, the plane’s pilots reacted to “a…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/us/southwest-planes-nashv…

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Claim 2: “Both of the Southwest pilots involved in this incident over the weekend told the air traffic controller that they received alarms from their collision avoidance systems”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including NBC Los Angeles and other news reports, confirm that both Southwest pilots reported receiving collision avoidance system alarms.

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Southwest Airlines planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding in Nashville. Both of the Southwest pilots involved in this incident told the air traffic controller that they received alar…
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/so…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Southwest Airline planes narrowly avoided a collision in Nashville on Saturday. Apr 20.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Southwest Airlines aircraft came dangerously close to each other near Nashville International Airport, prompting cockpit alarms and evasive action by both crews.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1399770-southwest-airlines…

help

Claim 3: “That location data appears to show these planes getting as close as 500 feet (152 meters) apart with one of them flying just over the top of the other plane, according to FlightRadar24”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding FlightRadar24 data showing a 500-foot separation for this specific incident.

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Claim 4: “Two Southwest Airlines planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee, after an air traffic controller directed one pilot to turn into the path of the other plane.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results confirm that two Southwest Airlines planes took evasive action to avoid a collision in Nashville on a Saturday due to air traffic controller instructions.

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Southwest Airlines planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee, after an air traffic controller directed one pilot to turn into the path of the other plan…
https://www.aol.com/articles/two-southwest-airlines-planes-c…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two Southwest Airlines planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding on Saturday in a frightening close call over Nashville’s airport. An air traffic controller gave an arriving Southwest fligh…
https://www.today.com/video/2-southwest-planes-take-evasive-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Southwest jets take evasive action, avoid mid-air crash over Nashville.Two Southwest Airline planes narrowly avoided a collision in Nashville on Saturday.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

schedule

Claim 5: “the incident that happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 6: “The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results specifically confirming that the FAA is investigating this incident, although one source title mentions 'F.A.A. Investigates' without providing the body text confirming the investigation's status.

verified

Claim 7: “Last year, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter resulting in 67 fatalities is confirmed by a Wikipedia entry and multiple news reports.

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web search NEUTRAL — On January 29, 2025, a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 and a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter operating as Priority Air Transport 25 collid…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Potomac_River_mid-air_col…

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web search NEUTRAL — Watch: Video reveals mid-air collision between American Airlines jet & Black Hawk helicopter that killed.American Airlines plane collides with military helicopter, footage emerges from accident with 6…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

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web search NEUTRAL — A PSA Airlines jet and US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near Washington National Airport, resulting in the tragic loss of 67 lives. The NTSB investigation revealed critical failures, including f…
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bryan-air_aviation-safety-nts…

schedule

Claim 8: “The agency said the pilot of Southwest flight 507 “received instructions from air traffic control that put the flight in the path of another airplane that was departing from a parallel runway.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “The controller directed that plane to turn into the path of the other Southwest plane that had just taken off.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources explicitly state that the air traffic controller directed the plane performing the go-around into the path of another Southwest plane that had just taken off.

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web search NEUTRAL — Air traffic control at Nashville International Airport directed a Southwest Airlines flight performing a go-around into the departure path of another Southwest jet on April 18, 2026, triggering cockpi…
https://www.indoneo.com/2026/04/21/southwest-nashville-near-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The controller directed that plane to turn into the path of the other Southwest plane that had just taken off.Southwest Airlines spokesperson Lynn Lunsford said gusty winds at the Nashville Internatio…
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-southwest-airlines-…

info

Claim 10: “the pilot reported that he was already above that level [2,000 feet (609 meters)]”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim discusses unrelated Southwest incidents (Las Vegas, Burbank, Albuquerque) and does not mention the 2,000-foot altitude report for the Nashville incident.

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web search NEUTRAL — Southwest Airlines says pilots on board Flight 1496 from Burbank to Las Vegas got two serious warnings at 14,000 feet. The pilots then took immediate action ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npOu_jiVOog

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web search NEUTRAL — “No injuries were immediately reported by Customers, but two Flight Attendants are being treated for injuries,” it said. A spokesperson for Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas said that medi…
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southwest-airlines-burb…

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web search NEUTRAL — A Southwest Airlines flight from Albuquerque to Baltimore was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday afternoon after the cockpit windscreen on the Captain’s side of the flight deck suddenly sha…
https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2026/05/12/southwest-airl…

verified

Claim 11: “That crash on Jan. 29, 2025, put the spotlight on midair collisions”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple NTSB-related reports confirm the date of the midair collision between the American Airlines jet and the Black Hawk helicopter as January 29, 2025.

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web search NEUTRAL — On January 29, 2025, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a military helicopter near Washington, D.C. The crash resulted in fatalities for everyone inside the two aircraft. Investigator…
https://www.motleyrice.com/aviation/mid-air-collision/americ…

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web search NEUTRAL — The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were…
https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/live-all-aboard-amer…

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web search NEUTRAL — Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board says a mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 may have been the result of a…
https://www.vpm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2025-02-14/altimeter-i…

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Claim 12: “There are typically several collisions involving small planes every year like the one that happened in February 2025 in Arizona that killed two people.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results confirm a midair collision between two small planes in southern Arizona in February 2025 that killed two people.

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web search NEUTRAL — Two people were killed when two small planes collided in midair near a regional airport in southern Arizona on Wednesday morning, officials said.The two people aboard the Lancair were killed, while th…
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/us/plane-crash-arizona-ai…

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web search NEUTRAL — — At least two people are dead after a midair collision involving two small planes in southern Arizona, authorities said Wednesday.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/19/2-people-de…

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web search NEUTRAL — Two people have died after two small planes collided mid-air in southern Arizona.Two plances have collided, killing at least two people in Arizona. Credit: X. A video, captured by Justine Brent, has w…
https://thenightly.com.au/world/arizona-plane-crash-two-dead…

schedule

Claim 13: “Southwest Airlines spokesperson Lynn Lunsford said gusty winds at the Nashville International Airport prompted the first pilot to perform a go around.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.