dailynewsnblog
Reports have emerged in the media that, earlier this week, a Boeing 767-300F cargo jet operating for UPS Airlines had to make a dramatic last-minute go-around at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) while arriving from 
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). It is said that a runway incursion by a small private plane prompted this occurrence, with the 767 subsequently landing safely at the second time of asking.
While, on this occasion, a collision was able to be averted, you don’t have to look too far back in time, namely to the collision between an Air Canada CRJ900 jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City, to see how devastating such a coming-together would have been. Let’s take a closer look back at what happened in Louisville earlier this week, how the situation was dealt with, and a recent development in another UPS case.
A Close Call
According to the Aviation Herald, the incident involved a UPS Airlines 
Boeing 767-300F cargo jet arriving in Louisville from Atlanta. The plane was operating flight 5X-1303, which, according to historical tracking data made available by Flightradar24, left Atlanta at 11:13 pm local time on April 13. This service typically takes just under an hour to get from Louisville to Atlanta, and it made its first landing attempt just after midnight on April 14.
However, as reported by Wave 3, the 767 was instructed to perform a go-around after a close call with a smaller private aircraft, namely a Pilatus PC-12 about to depart for Columbus in Ohio, which made an unplanned runway excursion, causing controllers to ask its pilots “what are you doing?” According to WDRB, airport spokesperson Michelle Polk said that “there was no operational impact,” as a result, and the FAA explained that:
“Air traffic control instructed UPS Airlines flight 1303 to perform a go-around at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport after another aircraft turned onto the runway without authorization. The required separation was maintained.”
The Flight & Aircraft Involved
According to Flightradar24, the 
UPS Airlines jet reached a minimum GPS altitude of 550 feet before performing the go-around maneuver, after which it climbed to an altitude of around 4,000 feet and flew a circuit to the east of the airport. It eventually touched down at 12:27 am local time, around 20 minutes after its aborted first landing attempt. In both instances, Louisville’s 8,578-foot (2,615 m) runway 17L was the strip of choice.
As previously noted, the aircraft involved in this near miss was a Boeing 767-300F cargo jet, with this particular example of the US-built widebody twin-engine aircraft bearing the registration N338UP. According to ch-aviation, this aircraft is 16.1 years old, having first flown back on March 15, 2010. It was delivered to UPS, which now has 92 767-300F jets in its fleet and is awaiting 15 more, two weeks later, and it has remained there ever since.
As for the flight itself, 5X-1303 is a regular service, with Flightradar24 showing that it operates five times a week: daily from Monday to Friday. This frequency with such a large aircraft makes sense, given that it connects two major US hubs. On the passenger side, Delta is the only airline serving this route.
6 Largest Airports In The US By Passenger Volume
These are the largest airports in the United States by passenger volume.
UPS Recently Experienced A Tragic Fatal Accident In Louisville
Louisville is UPS Airlines’ main hub, with its huge logistical and cargo handling facilities there known as the ‘Worldport.’ It was also here that another recent UPS service, namely flight 2976, was involved in a tragic fatal accident, whereby a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crashed shortly after departure following an engine separation on takeoff last November. The crash resulted in the deaths of all three crew members and 12 people on the ground.
The accident has also had a significant range of wider impacts on US aviation as a whole. Most notably, UPS has since made the decision to retire its entire remaining MD-11 fleet, and, while rival cargo carrier FedEx Express does not plan to follow suit, all of its MD-11s are currently grounded. In a recent development relating to this accident, Av Web reported earlier this week that the NTSB had scheduled an investigative hearing into the crash.
