What happened
American Airlines Flight 1262, an BAE-1ass146, was en route to John Wayne Airport when a failure of the runway lights at the destination necessitated a diversion to Ontario, California. During this diversion, the aircraft converged with British Airways Flight 282, a Boeing 747, which was climbing from Los Angeles International Airport on a flight to London, England.
An operational error occurred when the two aircraft passed each other at the same altitude with a horizontal separation of approximately 1.9 miles.
The investigation
The investigation determined that Coast TRACON had received control of Flight 1262 from Los Angeles Center. However, Flight 1262 was cleared into the airspace of Los Angeles TRACON without proper coordination among the three involved air traffic control facilities.
Findings
Investigators identified incomplete and misunderstood coordination between controllers at Los Angeles Center and Coast TRACON. Additionally, the radar and handoff controllers in the Harbor Sector at Coast TRACON failed to comply with the provisions of the Letter of Agreement between Coast TRACON and adjacent facilities.