Report: Airline, USAF jets nearly collided

An American Airlines jet that took off from Kennedy Airport in Queens nearly collided with two U.S. Air Force planes headed to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey last month, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report out Friday.

The NTSB report said the "near midair collision" occurred about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 20. The civilian jet's Traffic Collision and Alerting System (TCAS) alarm sounded, investigators said.

The American Airlines jet was being handled by controllers at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center in Ronkonkoma, where controllers guide over-water air traffic.

A Boeing 777-200, which can seat more than 300 people, was flying southeast toward Sao Paulo and came within a mile of two Air Force C-17 aircraft heading northwest to McGuire, which is in Burlington County, N.J.

Air traffic controllers "talking to each of the aircraft received conflict alerts" and immediately turned the planes away from each other, the NTSB said. The "operational error" occurred about 80 miles southeast of New York City, investigators said.

In a statement issued Friday, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said "all air traffic operational personnel at New York Center are already reviewing a variety of procedures, including the handling of formation flights, aircraft near sector boundaries and TCAS requirements."