A Pitt Meadows resident says he witnessed a “near collision” at the local airport for the first time during the nearly 25 years he has lived along the flight path.

Gary Holtz wrote to The News about an incident he witnessed at Pitt Meadows Airport where a “collision seemed inevitable but amazingly the pilots avoided the collision.”

An incident report filed on Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System revealed a “potential conflict” on July 16.

The report reveals a Montair Aviation Inc. Cessna A152 “was instructed to turn right crosswind for inbound traffic. Instead, the aircraft turned left, creating a conflict with traffic,” a Canadian Aviation College Cessna 172M that was departing eastbound.

The report, available online, indicates neither aircraft sustained damage during the incident and both landed safely.

It remains unclear why the pilot of the Cessna A152 failed to follow direction.

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