An Alaska Airlines 737 and FedEx cargo plane nearly collided Tuesday while attempting to land at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to radar data from FlightRadar24.
The incident took place around 8:17 p.m. Tuesday as the Alaska flight arrived from Portland, Oregon, and the FedEx plane arrived from Memphis, Tennessee.
Alaska Airlines Flight 294 was ordered to perform a go-around when FedEx Flight 721 was cleared "for the final approach to an intersecting runway," the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The FAA said it was investigating the incident.
Alaska Airlines cleared the FedEx plane by just 300 to 325 feet.
FedEx in a statement said its plane was "following instructions from air traffic control, the flight crew of FedEx flight 721 landed safely without incident at Newark Liberty International Airport Tuesday."
Alaska Airlines in a statement said air traffic control "issued a go around to our aircraft, which our pilots are highly trained for."
The incident happened on the 34th day of the partial government shutdown.
Since Sunday, around 10% of Transportation Security Administration airport personnel have failed to show for work daily – about five times the normal rate. That's led to long security lines at a number of major airports.
On Tuesday, around 30% of TSA officers did not show up at New York's JFK, Pittsburgh, and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and 40% at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport, the Homeland Security Department said.
Some airports have closed security checkpoints and others are working to raise money to help TSA workers buy food or other essentials as they go without pay. Major airline CEOs have called for a quick end to the standoff.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.