Pilot manoeuvre ‘prevented midair collision’ above Orlando airport last month

Pilot’s quick thinking most likely prevented a midair collision says expert

The FAA is investigating a close call between a small jet and a commercial flight in Florida.

Video obtained by ABC News shows the moment last month when the pilot of a single-engine Cessna, which at one point was just 500 feet from a Delta flight taking off from Orlando International Airport, evaded the collision by pulling off a last-minute manoeuvre.

“I knew that this didn’t look right, so immediately, I turned right and I climbed as steeply as I could because the Boeing 757 from Delta has a much higher climb rate than the aircraft that I was flying,” pilot Malik Clarke told the outlet.

ABC contributor Steve Ganyard, a former State Department official, said that the pilot’s quick thinking most likely prevented a midair collision.

Mr Clarke told ABC he took off from an area near the airport and was cleared to overflight the runway. Video recorded from inside the Cessna showed the terrifying moments right after Mr Clarke pulled the evasive manoeuvre.

“The two aircraft got as close as 500 feet vertically and 1,500 feet horizontally, which means way too close,” Mr Ganyard said. “ And it was somebody’s error to put them in the same part of the sky.”

The FAA has since opened an investigation into the incident, ABC reported.