Air France A350 and American A321 lose separation after LAX turn

An Air France Airbus A350-900 and an American Airlines Airbus A321 came within about 400 feet (121 metres) of vertical separation shortly after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the early hours of Saturday 7 November, according to Simple Flying. Both flights continued to their destinations, and no injuries were reported.

What happened

Simple Flying reports that Air France Flight 28, bound for Papeete (PPT), and American Flight 1660, bound for Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), departed at 12:15 AM and 12:16 AM respectively. The outlet says the jets could have been carrying more than 500 passengers between them.

The Air France aircraft, registered F-HUVK, had been cleared to depart via the SUMMR2 procedure. According to Simple Flying, citing the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft leaving Runways 24L/R and 25L/R must first climb straight ahead before following their assigned route. The American A321 (N191UW) had been told to hold at 2,000 feet so the Air France widebody could turn and then climb to FL270.

The unauthorised turn

Simple Flying cites TurbineTraveler on X as saying the A350 turned left shortly after take-off instead of continuing straight. That put it on a path that conflicted with the American jet, producing what is known as a loss of separation event.

The controller spotted the conflict and told both aircraft to turn away from each other, then asked the Air France crew about the deviation, according to the report. Simple Flying says it contacted Air France for comment but had not received a response from a spokesperson at the time of writing.

Collision-avoidance alerts and differing figures

Simple Flying says early reports indicate neither crew received a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) resolution advisory, the cockpit warning that tells pilots to climb or descend. It also notes that outlets have published different figures for how close the two aircraft came. The 400 ft vertical figure is the one given by Simple Flying; the version of the article available to us cuts off while describing The Aviation Herald’s account, so that outlet’s figures are not detailed here.

Similar earlier incident

Simple Flying also points to a comparable event at Los Angeles in 2025, when an American Airlines aircraft and an ITA Airways jet lost separation while climbing out after a pilot deviation. For background on the carriers, see our pages on Air France, American Airlines and ITA Airways, or our Air France vs American Airlines comparison.

What this means for travellers

Both flights completed their journeys with no reported harm, and the sources do not describe any delays, diversions or changes to schedules for either airline. Passengers departing LAX do not need to take any action based on the reports available.

It is not yet known whether an official investigation has been opened, what caused the deviation, or what the final separation distances were. Those details would normally emerge from the authorities and the airlines.

Sources: Simple Flying.