Video, shot from inside the Cessna cockpit, shows the pilot’s quick reaction to the situation. He pulled the plane over the rapidly climbing jet to avoid a potentially mass-casualty collision. The two planes were able to avoid each other by about 500 feet, due to Cessna pilot Malik Clarke “dodging” to avoid the much larger passenger plane. “I knew this didn’t look right,” Mr Clarke told ABC News, recalling how he noticed the plane ascending towards him on 17 August. “So I immediately turned right and climbed as steeply as I could – because the Boeing 757 from Delta has a much higher rate of climb than the aircraft I was flying,” he continued. “If I hadn’t made that evasive maneuver, it’s very likely there would have been a mid-air collision,” Mr Clarke continued. He then explained how he was no longer in contact with air traffic control at the time of the incident, having just changed frequency, so he had to take matters into his own hands. A video posted on social media by Mr Clarke shows the Boeing 757 flying dangerously close to the small aircraft, which was carrying only Mr Clarke at the time. Both pilots spoke with air traffic control immediately after the near miss. The FAA released a copy of the correspondence during its investigation. According to the minutes, the pilots of both aircraft reported that they had the other in sight. Delta also said it is conducting its own internal investigation into the near miss. The Independent has contacted the airline for comment. The news comes days after a private Cessna plane crashed off the coast of Latvia in the Baltic Sea. Four people are feared dead after the private jet “carrying a family of three” goes missing.
