2 Planes With Same Call Sign in Phoenix Could Have Been ‘Disastrous’

An air traffic controller noticed that two planes — one departing, one landing — were both flight 2482. He acted quickly to avoid confusion.

An air traffic controller's quick thinking helped avert a dangerous situation when two jets, one landing in Phoenix and the other simultaneously taking off, shared the same flight number and radio frequency.

The near miss happened when a pair of American Airlines planes under the same call call sign and on the same frequency spoke with the controller as one arrived into Phoenix and another was leaving.