Controller Catches Heading Mix-up In Portland

What appears to be a good catch by a Portland tower controller kept two airliners apart at Portland International last week. An ATC recording and animation making the social media rounds over the weekend caught the attention of some networks and it was billed as the latest in a series of near-collisions at U.S. airports. It's not clear how close the planes came, but it appears the controller reacted quickly when an Alaska Airlines crew misheard a radio call. The Alaska crew was executing a go-around and apparently thought a heading change for another airplane, a Skywest flight departing a parallel runway, was for them.

The Alaska crew called its go-around after having trouble with the winds and visibility while trying to land on Runway 28 Left at Portland. They were told to maintain runway heading. Immediately after that the controller gave the Skywest crew departing Runway 28 Right a right turn but the Alaska crew apparently thought it was for them. The Alaska crew read it back and started turning toward the Skywest plane, which was in its initial climb. The controller repeatedly told the Alaska crew to get back to runway heading and order was restored shortly afterward. The Alaska crew ended up diverting to Redmond, Oregon. The FAA is investigating.