A United Express (United Airlines) Embraer ERJ145 and a Volaris Airbus A320neo were involved in a near-miss incident shortly after both aircraft departed Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), with at least one of the flight crews receiving a resolution advisory (RA) during the event.
On December 18, 2025, at around 15:00 local time (UTC -6), the Volaris A320neo, registered as N546VL, and the United Express ERJ145, registered as N11176, were involved in a near-miss incident shortly after both aircraft had departed IAH.
According to air traffic control (ATC) audio published by VASAviation, both aircraft were cleared to take off from the parallel runways at IAH, runway 33L (Volaris) and runway 33R (United Express).
The controller instructed the Volaris pilots to conduct a left turn heading 110 from runway 33L. The pilots of the A320neo correctly read back the instruction, including the left turn, yet a few moments later, asked ATC to clarify whether they were supposed to turn right heading 110.
ATC responded, “Yes, so left turn 110.” The Volaris pilots once again correctly read back the turn left instruction, yet continued to turn right. Then, seconds later, they began turning left, once again crossing the flight path of the United Express ERJ145.
The flight crew of the regional jet told ATC that they just “had an RA,” or a resolution advisory (RA) produced by the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS). According to SKYbrary, an RA is an alert given to the pilots recommending either “a manoeuvre intended to provide separation from all threats,” or “a manoeuvre restriction intended to maintain existing separation.”
In response, the controller told the pilots of the ERJ145 to turn right heading 020. The United Express flight was operated by CommuteAir, which exclusively flies on behalf of United Airlines’ regional subsidiary.
Both the Volaris and United Express aircraft landed at their destinations, San Salvador International Airport (SAL) and Jackson Evers International Airport (JAN), without further incident following the near-miss.
So far, neither the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nor the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has indicated whether they will investigate the incident, which only came to light on December 27.
The safety event was also not reported in the FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system or the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), which is run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
