Air collision averted by 300 feet

BALTIMORE, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Two arriving and departing commercial jets this week missed colliding by 300 feet at Baltimore's international airport, it was reported Saturday.

A Delta Connection jet flew over a U.S. Airways Airbus A320 in the process of landing on a crossing runway Sunday evening, The Washington Post reported.

The pilots of the Airbus reported the incident, though the Delta crew did not see the descending plane, Federal Aviation Administration officials said.

FAA officials said air traffic controllers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport improperly cleared the Delta flight.

A collision alert sounded warning of the pending collision, but did not alert air traffic control in time to take action, the Post said.

The incident comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report Wednesday that concluded the United States faces a "high risk of a catastrophic runway collision" from over-worked aviation workers, lack of attention to the issue and outdated technology.

No one was hurt in the near-collision.