'El Al, Air France planes nearly crash'

El Al, Air France jets

An El-Al passenger jet bound for New York nearly collided with an Air France airliner over the skies of Belgrade on Monday, Channel 2 revealed on Tuesday evening. According to the report, the Serbian air controller erroneously instructed the Air France airplane to fly on a route already used by the El Al plane, thus putting the jets on a collision course. The two planes were about to crash in midair, but emergency alarms alerted both pilots and the El-Al plane changed course at the last moment, when the distance between the aircraft was only 300 meters. Serbian authorities reportedly claimed that the Serbian air controller was responsible for the incident and aviation authorities there launched an investigation into the near-accident. According to the report, El Al commended the Israeli pilot, stressing that at no point during the incidents were the passengers, crew or airplane in danger.