Watch: Mid-air collision narrowly averted in heavy rain and mist, investigation underway

A potentially dangerous situation unfolded in the skies over Portland International Airport last week, prompting a federal inquiry. Two airliners, an Alaska Airlines flight departing from Southern California and a SkyWest plane taking off, came dangerously close, with less than half a mile separating them on Saturday. This incident happened around 4:15 pm and forced the Alaska Airlines flight to take evasive action. A video of the incident was also shared on YouTube.

The aircraft were approximately 1,800 feet apart horizontally and had a vertical separation of 250 feet, reported The Oregonian. A near-midair collision is typically defined as planes coming within less than 500 feet of each other, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is currently conducting an investigation into this incident, the daily added.

The report added that the Alaska flight was travelling at 214 mph, while the SkyWest airliner was flying at 190 mph.

At the time of the incident, visibility was less than a mile due to heavy rain and mist. Strong winds had initially prevented Alaska Flight 1299 from landing, causing the plane to drop to 100 feet before attempting a second landing. Meanwhile, SkyWest Airlines flight 3978 was taking off on a parallel runway, the report stated.

In the video, the air traffic controller is seen asking the Alaska flight to stay on its current path, while the SkyWest plane was instructed to make a right turn. However, the Alaska flight's pilot repeated the instructions to the other plane and turned right, while the SkyWest flight continued straight.

For about 40 seconds, it seemed like the planes might collide, and the air traffic controller became increasingly frantic, even mistakenly calling the Alaska flight "1298." As a result of the incident, the Alaska flight was redirected to an airport 150 miles away and didn't land in Portland until 11:45 p.m.

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