NTSB Blames Controller After Landing Jet Forced to Go-Around — 0.6 Miles at 100 Feet

Two Clearances for One Runway

At about 8:58 p.m. EST on February 16, 2023, two passenger aircraft were placed on conflicting paths at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. American Airlines flight 2172, a Boeing 737-800, was approaching Runway 14 from Charlotte. Air Canada Rouge flight 1633, an Airbus A321, was preparing to depart the same runway for Toronto.

The American crew had been cleared to land when the Air Canada aircraft was cleared for takeoff. The NTSB investigation found that the tower was being operated with control positions combined while another controller was on break. The controller had also turned away from the control position to perform other tasks.

The Go-Around

As the two aircraft converged, the American crew recognized that the runway was occupied and discontinued the landing. The Boeing 737 climbed away while the Airbus continued its departure. NTSB data put the closest horizontal separation at about 0.6 miles, with the aircraft at roughly the same altitude.

The NTSB later described the event as a runway incursion. Its factual report identifies N826NN as the American aircraft and C-GKFB as the Air Canada aircraft. There were 172 passengers and six crew members aboard the American flight, and 188 passengers and six crew members aboard the Air Canada flight. No injuries or aircraft damage were reported.

The NTSB's factual report identifies the American aircraft as N826NN and the Air Canada aircraft as C-GKFB. The American flight was operating from Charlotte to Sarasota, while the Air Canada flight was scheduled from Sarasota to Toronto. The two flights therefore had different operational purposes but were converging on the same runway environment.

The tower configuration was part of the circumstances examined by investigators. The factual report records that the controller was working combined positions and that another controller was on break. The controller also performed an ATIS-related task while the two aircraft were approaching the runway conflict.

The event did not become a collision because the American crew discontinued the landing. The NTSB later used the incident as one of several 2023 runway-incursion cases in testimony to Congress, underscoring that the Sarasota event was part of a wider sequence of serious runway conflicts that year.

The NTSB's ATC group report gives the incident time as 2058 EST and identifies both aircraft by registration. It also records the passenger and crew totals, making clear how many people were exposed to the runway conflict.

The closest approach was close enough that the NTSB treated the event as a serious runway incursion, but the aircraft never collided. The go-around converted a developing runway conflict into a missed approach and allowed both flights to continue without injuries.

Accident facts

Chronology of the event

Sources