ORLANDO, FLORIDA — A single-engine Cessna aircraft almost collided with a Delta Boeing 757 passenger jet over Orlando International Airport in an incident that the FAA is currently investigating.


Video footage, filmed from within the cabin of the Cessna, shows the pilot’s quick reaction to the situation. He pulled the plane up over the rapidly climbing Boeing 757 jet to avoid a collision.

The two planes managed to avoid each other by about 500 feet thanks to the evasive maneuver of the Cessna Pilot, Malik Clarke.

“I knew that this didn’t look right,” Mr. Clarke told ABC News, recalling how he noticed the plane ascending towards him on 17 August.

“So immediately I turned right, and I climbed as steeply as possible because the Boeing 757 from Delta has a much higher climb rate than the aircraft I was flying. If I hadn’t done that evasive maneuver, it’s quite likely there would have been a midair collision,” he continued.
He then explained how he was no longer in contact with air traffic control at the time of the incident, having just switched frequencies, so he had to deal with the incident himself.

A video posted on social media by Mr. Clarke shows the Boeing 757 plane flying dangerously close to the small Cessna.

Both pilots spoke to air traffic control immediately after the near-miss.

The FAA has released a transcript of the correspondence in its investigation. According to the transcript, pilots of both aircraft reported having had the other in sight.