Two Planes Nearly Collide in Mid-Air After United and Delta Flights Experience ‘Loss of Required Separation’

A Delta Airlines flight and Unites Airlines narrowly missed colliding near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport over the weekend.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is investigating the incident, told PEOPLE in a statement that the near-miss happened on Saturday, Jan. 11 at around 11 a.m. when Delta Air Lines Flight 1070 and United Airlines Flight 1724 experienced “a loss of required separation."

The crews on both airplanes received “alerts” onboard “that the other aircraft was nearby,” and air traffic control at the airport “issued corrective instructions to both flight crews,” the FAA statement explains. Both planes were able to eventually land safely, the organization said.

The incident has prompted the FAA to begin an investigation into how the passenger jets got so close to each other to begin with.

Related: 2 Passenger Planes Collide on Airport Runway After Snowy Conditions Caused Skid

The Delta Airlines flight was an Airbus A330-300 coming in from Detroit, while the United Airlines flight was a Boeing 737-900 coming in from San Francisco, according to local news outlet KPNX. The flights had 245 passengers and 123 passengers and six crew members, respectively.

United Airlines said in a statement to PEOPLE that while preparing to land at Phoenix, the plane got “an automatic flight deck warning to change their altitude,” which prompted the pilots to act “immediately” and land the plane “safely.” It added that it was working with the FAA on its investigation.

Delta added in a statement to PEOPLE, "As nothing is more important than safety, Delta flight crews extensively train to handle uncommon scenarios such as this and followed the resolution advisory as directed."

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The incident was captured in photos by Arizona resident and aviation enthusiast Justin Giddens, who told KTVK, “I just was watching it make its turn and all of a sudden I see another plane coming off to the left looking like they’re in an intersecting path.”

Related: 'Is That a Plane on the Runway?': Investigation Reveals Cause of Southwest Plane Near-Collision

“It was immediate panic mode,” Giddens recalled. “I know the way the planes are supposed to be in the pattern on approach to Sky Harbor. So the big and the small plane kind of make it look like they were a lot further apart, [but] it was very, very close.”

Aviation safety expert Cary Grant, who analyzed the video of the two planes, told KTVK that “it sounds like the controller got preoccupied with other aircraft they were checking on at the frequency at the same time.”

He added that he didn’t think a collision was likely to occur thanks to the clear weather conditions at the time.

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