"Stop Your Altitude Climb": American Airlines & ITA Airways' Planes Nearly Collide Mid-Air After Pilot Deviation

An American Airlines Airbus A321 had to halt its climb out of Los Angeles International Airport after an ITA Airways Airbus A330-900 departing from a parallel runway to the north turned left, flying right in front of it. As reported by CSB News, the incident occurred on October 31, 2025, and the ITA A330 was instructed to correct its flight path, while the American A321 had to level off until it was clear of the other jet.

The American A321 was departing from LAX’s Runway 25R, the primary departure runway for the south side of the airport, while the ITA Airways A330 was departing from Runway 24L, the primary departure runway on the north side of the airport. The near miss was a concerning lapse of separation, but both planes would continue their flights uneventfully. Simple Flying has reached out to American Airlines, ITA Airways, and the FAA for comment.

Background Information On The Flights And The Incident

On October 31, 2025, an American Airlines A321 and an ITA Airways A330 lost separation when departing Los Angeles. The American Airlines jet, N107NN, was an Airbus A321-200 operating AA4 from Los Angeles to New York John F Kennedy International Airport. According to American Airlines, the flight had 90 passengers onboard, out of a capacity of 102, and also had seven crew members aboard. The airline also thanked the quick actions and professionalism of its pilots and the air traffic controllers in response to the incident.

The ITA Airways aircraft was EI-HJO, an Airbus A330-900 operating AZ621 from Los Angeles to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport. Simple Flying reached out to ITA Airways as well as the FAA for comment, but representatives were not immediately available for contact. ITA Airways’s A330-900s have a maximum capacity of 291 passengers, and would likely have a crew of four pilots for this flight.

AA4 was departing from Runway 25R, while AZ621 was departing from Runway 24L. At roughly 1,000 ft, AZ621 began a left turn to the south, while AA4 was climbing through 1,200 ft. Shortly afterwards, SOCAL Departure noticed the error and directed AZ621 to turn right heading 270 immediately. AA4 was instructed to halt its climb at 1,500 ft while AZ621 corrected course, passing in front of AA4. The American Airlines plane then resumed its climb, while the controller advised AZ621 of a possible pilot deviation and provided a phone number.

Looking At The Departure Procedures At LAX

Los Angeles International Airport has four runways: Runway 06L/24R, Runway 06R/24L, Runway 07L/25R, and Runway 07R/25L. On October 31, LAX was using Runways 24L and 25R for departures. LAX uses two seperate tower controllers for the north side and the south side of the airport. AZ621 was departing from Runway 24L, while AA4 was departing from Runway 25R.

The departure procedure for a departure to the east from Runway 25R calls for pilots to climb at heading 251 to 640 ft, then to climb direct to cross the DOCKR waypoint at or below 3,000 ft. After that, pilots are to turn left to heading 220 to cross the WEILR waypoint at or below 5,000 ft, before following the SID (Standard Instrument Procedure) to the OSHNN waypoint.

The departure procedure for a departure to the east from Runway 24L calls for pilots to climb at heading 251 to 640 ft, then to climb direct to cross the DLREY waypoint at or below 3,000 ft. After that, pilots are to maintain heading 256 until crossing the ENNEY waypoint at or below 5,000 ft, before following the SID to the OSHNN waypoint.

What Could Have Occurred Here

Based on a reconstruction of the two flights by VASAviation on YouTube, it would appear that the ITA Airways A330-900 followed the departure procedure for Runway 25R rather than Runway 24L. Likely, this was due to an error made when programming the A330’s Flight Management Computer (FMC).

When asked by SOCAL departure about why the aircraft turned to the south rather than maintaining its heading, the crew of AZ621 simply responded with “Sorry, Itarrow 621” (Itarrow is the callsign for ITA Airways). This occurred just before AA4 was to turn south to a heading of 220, while AZ621 was supposed to maintain runway heading.

The alarming near miss was noticed in time by the air traffic controllers, alerting both aircraft in time to avoid a catastrophe. After the incident, both aircraft proceeded to their destinations routinely. ITA Airways will also be assessing the situation and reviewing procedures to prevent a repeat.