It happened fast.
One second, you’re looking out the window at the gray tarmac of Newark Liberty International Airport, maybe checking your watch or wondering if the Wi-Fi will actually work this flight. The next, the engines are screaming, the plane is pitching up, and you’re pushed back into your seat by a force you weren't expecting. This isn't just a bump in the road. It’s a TCAS alert.
When we talk about a United Airlines collision warning, people usually think of two planes playing chicken in the sky. But the reality is often much more bureaucratic—and honestly, scarier—than a Hollywood movie. We’re talking about the thin margin between a routine Monday morning and a catastrophic headline.
In early 2023, a United Boeing 777 and a Republic Airways Embraer 170 had a "close call" that sent shockwaves through the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It wasn't just a mistake; it was a systemic failure. The Republic flight crossed a runway it wasn't supposed to be on while the United heavy was barreling down for takeoff.
Air travel is safe. We know this. Statistically, you're more likely to get bit by a shark while winning the lottery. But these "near misses" have been ticking up. Why?
The Tech Behind the United Airlines Collision Warning
Basically, every commercial jet is equipped with TCAS—the Traffic Collision Avoidance System. Think of it as a digital bubble. If another "bubble" gets too close, the planes start talking to each other. One plane's computer says "I'm climbing," and the other says "Okay, I'm diving."
It’s an incredible piece of engineering. But it’s not infallible.
TCAS relies on transponders. If a pilot forgets to turn one on, or if the equipment glitches, that digital bubble pops. At Newark, the issue wasn't the tech in the cockpit as much as it was the communication on the ground. The "warning" didn't come from a computer first; it came from the sheer terror of seeing a massive 777 coming straight at a smaller regional jet.
The NTSB has been breathing down the FAA's neck about this for years. They call them "runway incursions." It sounds clinical. It feels like a line item in a budget. But when a United Airlines collision warning triggers because of a misheard instruction from Air Traffic Control (ATC), it highlights a massive problem with staffing and fatigue.
What Actually Happened in the Recent Incidents?
Look at the numbers. In the first half of 2023 alone, the FAA saw a spike in serious close calls. At Austin-Bergstrom, a FedEx cargo plane nearly landed on top of a Southwest flight. At JFK, a Delta plane had to slam on its brakes because an American Airlines jet crossed its path.
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Then you have the United incidents.
In February 2023, United Flight 1722 took off from Maui and, for reasons that still make people's skin crawl, plummeted toward the ocean. It got within 800 feet of the water. While that wasn't a "collision warning" with another plane, it was a ground proximity warning—the plane’s "don't hit the earth" alarm.
Pilots are human. They get tired. They get distracted.
The aviation industry is currently screaming for more staff. We have a pilot shortage, sure, but we also have a massive shortage of veteran air traffic controllers. When you have a "newbie" in the tower at one of the busiest airports in the world, and a pilot who has been on duty for 12 hours, the margin for error shrinks to almost zero.
Why We Should Care About "Loss of Separation"
Loss of separation. That’s the industry term.
It means the mandatory "empty space" around a plane was violated. Most of the time, passengers don't even know it happened. You might notice the plane bank a little harder than usual or hear the engines spool up. You probably assume it’s just turbulence or a standard course correction.
Actually, the pilot might have just saved your life because they got a United Airlines collision warning on their primary flight display.
United has been under the microscope more than most lately. Part of that is just the law of large numbers—they fly a ton of planes. But part of it is the aging infrastructure of the hubs they dominate. Newark, San Francisco, Chicago O'Hare. These are high-pressure environments.
The "Close Call" Culture
There’s this thing called the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). It’s basically a "get out of jail free" card for pilots and controllers. If they make a mistake, they can report it anonymously, and as long as it wasn't intentional or criminal, they don't get punished.
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The goal? To find out why things go wrong before people die.
Recently, reports have been flooding in about "near-miss" events. Pilots are reporting that ATC instructions are getting clipped, or that they’re being asked to perform maneuvers that feel "uncomfortable" given the traffic density.
When a United Airlines collision warning occurs, it’s a failure of several layers of the "Swiss Cheese Model." You’ve heard of this, right? The idea that safety is like layers of Swiss cheese. Usually, the holes don't line up. But every once in a while, the hole in the ATC layer, the hole in the pilot fatigue layer, and the hole in the weather layer all align.
That’s when things get dangerous.
Human Error vs. Systemic Failure
We love to blame the person in the seat. It’s easy. "The pilot messed up." "The controller wasn't paying attention."
But honestly? That’s rarely the whole story.
Take the United incident where a wing clipped another plane on the taxiway. Is that a "collision?" Technically, yes. Is it a "warning" failure? Sort of. It’s a failure of situational awareness. These planes are massive. A Boeing 777-300ER has a wingspan of nearly 213 feet. Maneuvering that on a crowded taxiway is like driving a skyscraper through a parking lot.
The FAA held a "Safety Summit" in 2023 because these incidents were becoming too frequent to ignore. They realized that the "systems" were stretched too thin.
- Technology Lag: Some ATC towers are still using tech that feels like it’s from the 90s.
- Experience Gap: A lot of senior controllers retired during the pandemic.
- Traffic Volume: We are flying more than ever. The skies are crowded.
If you’re sitting in 12B and the plane suddenly jolts, it’s probably nothing. But the fact that we’ve had so many "probably nothings" lately is why the industry is on edge.
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The Role of ADS-B
While TCAS is the "active" warning, ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) is the "passive" one. It’s how your FlightRadar24 app knows where the planes are. Every plane broadcasts its position via GPS.
The problem is that ground-based radar and GPS-based ADS-B sometimes have a disagreement of a few meters. In the air, a few meters doesn't matter. On a runway in the fog? A few meters is the difference between a safe takeoff and a United Airlines collision warning that comes too late.
United has been aggressive about retrofitting their older fleet with the newest ADS-B Out tech. They have to. The FAA mandated it. But having the tech and having a clear-headed human to interpret it are two different things.
Practical Steps for the Concerned Traveler
You can't fly the plane. You can't talk to the tower. So what do you do?
First, stop worrying. Despite the headlines about a United Airlines collision warning or a near-miss in Boston, flying is still the safest way to travel. The systems worked. That’s the part the news usually misses. The warning happened, the pilots reacted, and the planes didn't hit.
The system is designed to fail-safe.
However, being an informed passenger does change how you handle your flight.
- Keep your seatbelt fastened. Always. Most injuries during "collision avoidance maneuvers" happen because people are tossed around the cabin when the pilot has to pull a sudden 2G climb to avoid traffic.
- Pay attention during taxiing. If you see something weird out the window—like another plane that looks way too close—don't be afraid to mention it to a flight attendant. Passengers have actually spotted issues that the crew missed before.
- Check the tail number. If you’re a nerd about it, you can look up your plane’s history on sites like PlaneSpotters. You’ll see that most of these birds are meticulously maintained.
- Understand the "Go-Around." If your pilot suddenly aborts a landing and climbs back up, don't panic. That is the system working. They saw a potential conflict and chose the safe route. It’s not a "scary incident"; it’s a professional decision.
The FAA is currently working on a new "Surface Awareness Initiative." They’re installing new, cheaper versions of surface radar at airports that didn't have it before. This will help prevent the kind of United Airlines collision warning scenarios that happen on the ground.
We are in a transitional period. The tech is getting better, but the human element is under a lot of pressure. The next time you hear about a "near miss," remember that it’s actually a report of a safety system that prevented a disaster.
The goal isn't just to stop the warnings. The goal is to make sure we never need them. Until then, the TCAS "bubble" and a pair of eyes in the cockpit are what keep the 30,000 feet between you and the ground feeling like the safest place on earth.
Stay buckled, stay informed, and trust the redundancies. The headlines sell fear, but the data shows a system that, while stressed, is still incredibly resilient. Watch the safety briefing, know your exits, and let the computers and controllers handle the math. They’ve got a lot of "bubbles" to keep track of.