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Air France and American Airlines jets nearly collide after takeoff from LAX

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 7 outlets. No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered it yet.

7 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

American Airlines passenger jet climbing after takeoff against a clear blue sky
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

Two passenger jets came close to colliding after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport at about 12:20 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Federal Aviation Administration said an Air France flight made a turn it had not been cleared to make and moved into the path of an American Airlines flight departing a parallel runway. Reports of how close the jets came differ: one account gives 400 feet vertically, another about one nautical mile apart.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Two passenger jets came close to colliding after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport around 12:20 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7.

    Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    CBS News
    Far Right
    Fox News, The Western Journal

  2. The FAA said an Air France flight turned into the path of an American Airlines jet departing from a parallel runway.

    Reported byFar Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Far Right
    Fox News

  3. The FAA said the Air France turn was one the crew had not been cleared to make.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

  4. Air traffic control issued a traffic alert to the American Airlines crew, warning that another aircraft was less than a mile away.

    One outletFox News· Far Right

  5. One report gives the vertical separation at closest approach as 400 feet; another gives the planes as about one nautical mile apart.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    New York Post, Daily Mail

  6. The Air France flight was bound for Papeete, Tahiti, and the American Airlines flight for Dallas-Fort Worth.

    Reported byFar Left1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Right
    New York Post

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Questions the coverage answers differently, and who says what.

  • Were the two jets 400 feet apart vertically at their closest point?

    The New York Post reports the Air France jet came within 400 feet vertically of the American Airlines jet. The Daily Mail reports the two planes were approximately one nautical mile apart.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports two passenger jets came close together after takeoff from Los Angeles around 12:20 a.m. on Nov. 7. Left headlines lead with the near miss and cite officials, while right headlines name the Air France jet as the one that turned and add drama.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Headlines describe a near collision or close call between two planes after takeoff and cite officials as the source, without naming which jet made the turn.

    2 planes taking off in LA nearly collide, officials say
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    4 outlets

    Headlines name the Air France jet as the one that turned and add drama, using words such as terrifying, shell-shocked and packed, with the Far Right outlets stressing the pilots and near-miss detail.

    Sensational language“Terrifying”The word adds drama beyond the reported facts of a near miss that caused no injuries.More neutral: CloseDisagree with this highlight? close call at LAX after Air France jet makes wrong turn in midair
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    frantic last-second intervention

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right4

    Terrifyingshell-shocked pilotCatastrophetense moment

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    TerrifyingMore neutral: Close

    The word adds drama beyond the reported facts of a near miss that caused no injuries.

    Terrifying close call at LAX after Air France jet makes wrong turn in midair

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    shell-shocked pilotMore neutral: pilot heard in flight audio

    States the pilot’s emotional state, which the audio alone does not establish.

    Plane nearly collides with American Airlines aircraft over LAX with shell-shocked pilot heard in flight audio: 'Give me a minute'

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    frantic last-second interventionMore neutral: air traffic control intervention

    The words add drama about the controllers' response beyond what the reported facts state.

    Air traffic controllers were forced into a frantic last-second intervention.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    CatastropheMore neutral: near collision

    Calls a near miss a catastrophe that did not happen, a judgement beyond the facts reported.

    Catastrophe was 400 feet away from reality in the sky over Los Angeles International Airport…

    Used byThe Western Journal (Far Right)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    tense momentMore neutral: moment

    Adds emotional drama to a plain account of recorded air traffic control audio.

    Air traffic control audio captured the tense moment an Air France jet made an unauthorized turn into the path of an American Airlines…

    Used byFox News (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • the near collision after takeoff
  • officials as the source
  • one plane turning in front of another

Leaves out

  • the FAA’s description of the turn as unauthorized

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Two Passenger Jets Nearly Collide Moments After Takeoff

    Two passenger jets narrowly avoided a midair collision moments after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport. The near-miss occurred around 12:20 a.m., when an Air France Airbus A350 bound for Papeete veered into the path of an American Airlines Airbus A321 departing …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • CNNLeft

    Close call at LAX airport as plane turns in front of another aircraft taking off

    An Air France plane taking off from Los Angeles International Airport made a wrong turn early Saturday morning, putting it in the path of an American Airlines jet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. …

    Read at CNN (opens in a new tab)
  • CBS NewsLeft

    2 planes taking off in LA nearly collide, officials say

    Officials say two planes taking off from Los Angeles early Saturday morning almost collided. Kris Van Cleave has more details.

    Read at CBS News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

4 outlets

Leads with

  • the Air France jet making the wrong turn
  • how close the planes came
  • the pilots’ reaction and cockpit audio
See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    American Airlines plane nearly hit by Air France jet after takeoff at LAX

    Air traffic control audio captured the Sensational language“tense moment”Adds emotional drama to a plain account of recorded air traffic control audio.More neutral: momentDisagree with this highlight? an Air France jet made an unauthorized turn into the path of an American Airlines flight at LAX recently. An expert weighed in.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • The Western JournalFar Right

    FAA Investigates After 2 Packed Passenger Jets Nearly Collide After Taking Off from Los Angeles

    Sensational language“Catastrophe”Calls a near miss a catastrophe that did not happen, a judgement beyond the facts reported.More neutral: near collisionDisagree with this highlight? was 400 feet away from reality in the sky over Los Angeles International Airport over the weekend. At about 12:20 a.m. Saturday, an Air France flight turned into the

    Read at The Western Journal (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Plane nearly collides with American Airlines aircraft over LAX with Sensational language“shell-shocked pilot”States the pilot’s emotional state, which the audio alone does not establish.More neutral: pilot heard in flight audioDisagree with this highlight? heard in flight audio: 'Give me a minute'

    The two planes, which likely had 500 passengers on board combined, were approximately one nautical mile apart.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Sensational language“Terrifying”The word adds drama beyond the reported facts of a near miss that caused no injuries.More neutral: CloseDisagree with this highlight? close call at LAX after Air France jet makes wrong turn in midair

    An Air France Airbus bound for Papeete, Tahiti, reportedly came within just 400 feet vertically of an American Airlines Airbus headed to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    1 day 3 hr later

    Its first report, Nov 9, 7:30 PM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    New York Post, Nov 8, 4:21 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. New York PostRightNov 8, 4:21 PM EST
  2. CBS NewsLeftNov 9, 7:30 PM EST
  3. CNNLeftNov 9, 9:33 PM EST
  4. Daily MailRightNov 10, 12:34 AM EST
  5. The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 10, 10:22 AM EST
  6. The Western JournalFar RightNov 10, 11:00 AM EST
  7. Fox NewsFar RightNov 10, 6:54 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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