Major Aviation Disaster Averted in United States, Two Planes Evade Collision Last Moment: Watch

The Southwest Airlines plane and FedEx plane were both given clearance to use the same runway while the FedEx cargo airplane was cleared to land while it was several miles from airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration informed that a FedEx cargo plane that was making an attempt to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday had to change its path after another plane was given permission to take off from the same runway. "The pilot of the FedEx airplane discontinued the landing and initiated a climb out," the FAA said in a statement. The Boeing 767 cargo airplane was several miles from the airport when it was cleared to land, according to the FAA. But just before it was expected to land, an air traffic controller gave the go-ahead for an airplane operated by Southwest Airlines to take off.

In a tweet on Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board described it as a "possible runway incursion and overflight involving airplanes from Southwest Airlines and FedEx." The Southwest flight was able to depart safely, according to the FAA. The FAA and NTSB said they are investigating the incident.

It should be mentioned that these instances have been occurring more frequently in American airports. A similar close call was averted at John F. Kennedy International Airport last month after an American Airlines plane crossed a runway while a Delta Airlines' Boeing 737 plane was preparing for takeoff.

The Delta plane stopped about 1,000 feet (about 0.3 kilometers) from where the American Airlines plane had crossed from an adjacent taxiway, according to the FAA statement. In a different incident two United Airlines planes clipped one other's wings at Newark Airport recently. 

With PTI Inputs