Overview
- A Phoenix air traffic controller noticed two Boeing 737s both using the callsign American 2482 on the same radio frequency on Aug. 14 and immediately differentiated them as “on arrival” and “on departure.”
- The controller managed vertical separation and limited the departing jet’s climb until the arriving jet passed, and pilots established visual contact so both flights landed or departed without incident.
- American Airlines says the overlap happened when a weather-delayed inbound aircraft kept the original flight number while a different Phoenix aircraft was used to operate the outbound leg on schedule.
- The FAA and American have opened investigations to determine how dispatch, flight-planning or numbering procedures allowed duplicate call signs on the same frequency and whether technical or procedural fixes are needed.
- Industry reporting notes this is not unique and stems from four-digit flight-number limits and reuse of round-trip numbers, a system weakness that regulators and carriers may address to prevent similar near-misses.