Overview
- Shortly after midnight on Friday, two Boeing 737s operating as American Airlines flight 2482 were on the same Phoenix radio frequency as one arrived from Chicago and the other departed for Chicago.
- A veteran Phoenix air traffic controller quickly distinguished the aircraft by saying “2482 on arrival” and “2482 on departure” and then issued separate altitude and routing instructions to keep them apart.
- Flight-tracking data and ATC audio show the jets remained within legal separation as they crossed, roughly three miles horizontally and about 2,000 feet vertically apart.
- The controller filed a Mandatory Occurrence Report and both American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are reviewing the event to determine whether dispatch, radio procedures, or systems should change.
- Industry reporting notes this stemmed from standard flight-number reuse for out-and-back routings and limits in four-digit numbering, a constraint that could drive procedural or technical fixes if investigators find gaps.