The AFP says a South Korean airliner carrying hundreds of passengers came close to hitting another jet at Los Angeles airport last August after a ground traffic control mix-up.

On August 19th, an Asiana Airlines' Boeing 747 jumbo jet was reportedly coming in to land at Los Angeles International Airport when the pilot realized that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was on the runway on which he was about to touch down.

The Asiana pilot then aborted the landing and abruptly pulled up when the planes were only about 43 meters apart, averting a potential aviation nightmare.

The findings were in a report released Thursday by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which expressed concern that the Los Angeles incident was not initially reported as an operational error.

The report ultimately blamed the near-collision on a controller who had mistakenly cleared the Southwest plane for take off as the Asiana jet was about to land.