Two Passenger Jets Involved in Terrifying Near-Miss During Takeoff at Houston Airport

A terrifying mid-air near-miss at one of America’s busiest airports could have ended in disaster after two commercial jets came dangerously close to colliding during takeoff in Houston — just seconds apart.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation after a Volaris jet and a United Express flight nearly slammed into each other on Dec. 18 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

According to flight data, the two planes — a United Express Flight 4814, operated by CommuteAir, and a Volaris Airbus headed for El Salvador — both began their takeoffs on parallel runways around 3:01 p.m. local time.

Moments later, things went terribly wrong. The FAA said the Volaris pilots were instructed to turn left after takeoff. Instead, the crew turned right — directly into the path of the United flight.

Radar tracking shows the planes came within 700 feet horizontally and just 150 feet vertically — a terrifyingly small gap when both jets were speeding through the sky.

“It’s a blink away from catastrophe,” one aviation analyst told ABC News. “If either crew had reacted a second slower, we’d be talking about two planes colliding in mid-air.”

Air traffic control audio reveals the Volaris aircraft triggered what’s known as a “resolution advisory” — a last-minute warning from the onboard Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that automatically tells pilots to climb or descend to prevent a crash.

“The TCAS saved lives here,” said aviation consultant and former airline captain Josh Verde, who spoke to Houston’s KHOU 11 after the incident. “This was a human error. Pilots make mistakes — that’s why TCAS exists. It’s an extra set of eyes when seconds matter.”

Verde added that close calls like this happen more often than passengers realize. “It doesn’t mean these airlines are unsafe. It just means that in a high-pressure environment, people can make wrong turns — literally.”

The FAA confirmed that the near-miss happened around 3:05 p.m. and said it is conducting a full investigation into how the mix-up occurred.

“Based on our initial assessment, our crew followed all applicable air traffic control instructions,” said Jason Kadah, CommuteAir’s managing director of communications.

Volaris, the Mexico-based carrier, has not publicly commented on the incident.

Experts say the Houston scare is part of a troubling trend: a rise in runway and takeoff incidents at major U.S. airports. In 2023 and 2024 alone, the FAA logged dozens of close calls, some within just seconds of tragedy.

“Air traffic is surging post-pandemic, and with that comes more strain on pilots and controllers,” said Verde. “One wrong turn, one missed call — and you can have disaster.”

For passengers, the December 18 incident serves as a chilling reminder of just how thin the margin for error can be at 30,000 feet.

“This was a brush with tragedy,” said one Houston traveler who witnessed the commotion from a nearby terminal. “You could see the planes veering. Everyone just froze.”

The FAA says its investigation remains ongoing. But one thing is clear: the skies over Houston came dangerously close to disaster — and it’s only luck and quick thinking that kept hundreds of passengers alive.