The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a United Airlines jet and an American Eagle plane flew closer to each other than standards allow Friday at LaGuardia Airport.

The American Eagle aircraft, an Embraer 135 from Boston’s Logan International Airport, was attempting a landing on Runway 22. The United jet, an Airbus A-319 bound for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, was taking off using Runway 31, said Holly Baker, an FAA spokeswoman.

When an air traffic controller became concerned that the aircraft’s position was going to put it in conflict with other planes, the controller asked the pilot to perform a “go-around,” Baker said.

The go-around procedure required that the American Eagle pilot abort its landing approach, climb, circle and land again, which it did.

As the American Eagle plane abandoned its initial landing attempt at 12:21 p.m., it passed within 2,700 feet horizontally and 400 feet vertically of the Airbus.

“We’ll be investigating,” Baker said.

The FAA standard for plane separation during the departure and arrival phase of flight is three miles of horizontal separation and 1,000 feet of vertical separation.

Pilots executing a go-around is “pretty standard procedure,” said Baker and an official with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said.

An airport like LaGuardia, which handled more than 24,000 flights in February, might experience one go-around a day, said James Plackis, an aviation consultant and former FAA safety counselor from Wantagh.

An official with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association who works at the LaGuardia control tower declined to comment last night.

(Source: Newsday)