Controller error blamed as El Al and Air France planes almost collide

Two planes have almost collided near Belgrade due to what has been described as an air traffic control error.
An El Al Boeing 777 carrying 120 passengers bound for New York from Tel Aviv came within 300 metres of an Air France plane before an alert warning tipped off the El Al pilot to steer away.

A Serbian air traffic controller was at fault, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“The pilot acted appropriately for this type of situation,” Lior Yavor, El Al senior vice president of operations, said.

“The passengers, crew or plane were never in any danger. El Al has built its reputation on the subject of security and will never compromise on that.”

The Israeli national airline is famous for its strict security controls and pre-departure questioning of every passenger in light of constant terror threats against the Jewish state.

Air France spokeswoman Karen Gillo said the company was not aware of the reports and would have a statement once it looked into the situation.

The near-crash follows some mid-air drama last week down under, when a Virgin Blue Boeing 737 and Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 nearly crossed paths in Australia. That incident was blamed on Brisbane air traffic controllers.