There was an uncomfortably close call at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) a couple of weeks ago, as two jets departing on parallel runways ended up dangerously close to one another on their climb out.
United A320 & SkyWest CRJ have dangerous SFO departure
VASAviation has the scoop on what happened at SFO on the afternoon of May 13, 2025. Interestingly, this incident was seemingly reported to VASAviation by a controller at the airport, who stated that this was one of the two or three closest calls he has seen at the airport in 15+ years. That obviously puts into perspective just how serious this was.
Specifically, this incident involves two aircraft that were supposed to perform parallel takeoffs on runway 1L and runway 1R:
- A United Airbus A320 with the registration code N4901U was operating flight UA1152 to Dallas (DFW)
- A SkyWest CRJ-200 with the registration code N246PS was operating flight 5273 to Fresno (FAT)
Both planes had specific routes they were supposed to fly after takeoff, known as SIDs (standard instrument departures):
- The United jet was first given clearance for takeoff on runway 1R, and was supposed to fly the TRUKN SID, which involves a right turn after takeoff
- The SkyWest jet was cleared for takeoff on runway 1L a short while later, and was supposed to fly the SSTIK SID, which involves a left turn after takeoff
As you can tell, this should be a routine procedure, since the plane taking off from the left was supposed to turn left right after takeoff, while the plane taking off from the right was supposed to turn right after takeoff.
However, a moment after takeoff, the United jet made a sharp turn to the left, rather than flying right, as it was supposed to. This meant that the United A320 flew directly into the path of the SkyWest CRJ-200. At their closest points, the planes were just 0.4 nautical miles apart horizontally, and 280 feet apart vertically. This is a beyond uncomfortably close call.
Fortunately the SkyWest pilots received a traffic alert, and they ended up turning to avoid a collision. You can hear the audio for yourself below, along with a recreation of what happened, as VASAviation always does a great job with this.
Why did the United jet fly in the wrong direction?
Given that the United jet was responsible for this close call, pilots were given a number to call after their flight, to discuss the pilot deviation. According to the controller providing details, the United captain called, and shared the following details:
- It was the first officer’s first time departing SFO, and the first officer was the pilot flying
- Around 500 feet after takeoff, the flight management system (FMS) indicated that they should commence a left turn, which they did
- The captain questioned what was going on and was confused, as he knew they should be turning right
- So the captain then punched in the new heading, but at that point the planes were already so close to one another
It sure sounds to me like the FMS for the United plane might have had the TRUKN departure programmed for a runway 28 departure, rather than a runway 1 departure. At least that would explain the left turn after takeoff, rather than the expected right turn.
Everything about this situation was a mess
The United jet flying the wrong heading after takeoff was just the tip of the iceberg here, as there were several other issues as well.
For example, while this situation was going on, the air traffic controller twice issued the United pilots the instructions to “fly runway heading,” which is clearly not what he was actually intending to say. At this point the plane was way off the runway heading, and the air traffic controller intended to say “fly present heading,” but instead, he gave completely different instructions, even after the pilot sought clarification.
This also seems like a situation where at least as an observer, you’d think there are opportunities to improve communication. Admittedly hindsight is 20/20, but when you’re issuing two planes on parallel runways takeoff clearance, it seems like it would make sense to remind them of the other traffic, and of their departure route.
That might sound obvious, but one would think that if the United pilots were specifically reminded that another plane was taking off to the left of them, they wouldn’t try to turn left right after takeoff.
Also, that poor Turkish Airlines pilot! My gosh, how many times did he ask for landing clearance? Obviously there was a lot going on, but it seems like it would’ve been more efficient to just tell the pilot “standby,” based on how much airtime Turkish took up. Like, was the Turkish jet at the gate before landing clearance was actually issued?
Bottom line
A United A320 and SkyWest CRJ-200 had a close call while performing parallel takeoffs from SFO. The problem arose because the United jet made a wrong turn after takeoff, seemingly due to an incorrectly programmed computer.
This situation should’ve never happened, and what makes it even worse is that it wasn’t the extent of the issues. While the air traffic control was obviously overworked, he repeatedly issued wrong instructions, different than what he intended to.
What do you make of this SFO takeoff incident?
