Federal aviation officials are investigating a mid-air near-miss between American Airlines and Air Canada regional jets over New York’s JFK Airport on Monday. The incident occurs amid a disturbing nationwide surge in “loss of separation” close calls, including a fatal March 2026 runway collision at nearby LaGuardia Airport.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Republic Airways Flight 4464 executed a go-around. The Embraer E175 twinjet was operating for American Airlines from Indianapolis. It deviated from its approach path. The jet drifted into the trajectory of Jazz Aviation Flight 554, an Air Canada Express Embraer E175 arriving from Toronto. Flight 554 was cleared to land on a parallel runway.
The two aircraft converged rapidly. At their closest point, the planes were separated by just 350 feet vertically and 0.62 miles horizontally, triggering an immediate FAA investigation into the flight origins and the 350-foot proximity of the near-miss at JFK. This distance fell drastically below the federal 1,000-foot terminal minimum safety threshold.
Onboard Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems triggered resolution advisories in both cockpits. Air traffic control issued immediate directions. Pilots took evasive action. One jet descended sharply. The other climbed. Both crews performed successful go-arounds. They landed safely shortly before 3:00 p.m. local time. No injuries were reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration is now reviewing radar data and pilot communications. The incident triggers automatic, heightened federal review. The National Transportation Safety Board may intervene. U.S. airspace safety is already under intense scrutiny. Another close call involved two Southwest Airlines Boeing 737s in Nashville just earlier this month. The repeated loss of separation at major hubs threatens to force localized operational delays to manage air traffic density.