Two American Airlines Boeing 737-800 flights operating as AA2482 were in Phoenix airspace at the same time after a delay on the Chicago-to-Phoenix sector and an on-time departure from Phoenix to Chicago. A Phoenix air traffic controller detected the overlap, kept the aircraft safely separated and used directional phraseology to distinguish the planes during the busy radio exchange.
Reports placed the aircraft about three miles apart horizontally and roughly 2,000 feet apart vertically, within required separation standards. The inbound flight from Chicago landed late, while the outbound service departed on schedule on a different aircraft, creating the duplicate call sign conflict. American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are reviewing the incident, which highlighted the communication risk that can arise when the same flight number is used in both directions of a round trip and a delay forces an equipment substitution.