Cayman Airways Denies Involvement In Incident

The National Transportation Safety Board says it is investigating a near midair collision in New York City, in which two airliners came in close proximity to one another.

On July 5, 2008, 8:36 pm eastern daylight time, Cayman Airways flight 792, a Boeing 737-300, and a Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile flight 533, Boeing 767-300, almost collided at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), according to initial reports.

The NTSB states the Cayman Airways flight, on approach to runway 22L, was executing a missed approach and conflicted with the Linea Aeroea Navional de Chile flight that was departing runway 13R. Tower controllers intervened to attempt to resolve the conflict, assigning both aircraft diverging headings.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the two planes came no closer 300 feet vertically, and no more than a half-mile horizontally. That account differs from the one given by air traffic controllers, however; as ANN reported, controllers say the two jets came within 100 feet vertically and much closer than a half-mile horizontally.

The closest proximity of the two aircraft has not yet been determined, reports the NTSB. At the time of the incident, the weather was VFR with six miles visibility and haze.

In related news, Cayman Airways has said it "is refuting" media reports that one of its planes was involved in the near-miss incident. The airline cites a statement by the National Air Traffic Association, that the Cayman Airways 737 executed a routine go around on approach.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.caymanairways.com