A Delta Air Lines plane coming in to land at Boston Logan International Airport had to abort its landing and circle back around after coming within 300 feet of an American Airlines plane taking off from the same runway. According to AP News, the Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating what happened.

That 300-foot gap may not sound like much. To put it in perspective: planes landing or taking off are moving fast, and the FAA's standard safety rules require aircraft to maintain thousands of feet of separation depending on their size. Three hundred feet is far below what the rulebook allows, which is why this event was serious enough to trigger an investigation.

When the Delta pilot decided to execute what's called a "go-around" — essentially pulling up and circling around to try landing again — that quick action likely prevented either a runway collision or planes colliding in the air. Go-arounds happen regularly as routine maneuvers, but in this case it served as the safety net that mattered most.

Investigators now need to figure out exactly what went wrong. Did the American Airlines plane get clearance to take off before the Delta flight was properly set up for landing? Did an air traffic controller make a mistake? Did one of the flight crews do something out of order? Or was it a combination of things? These details matter, and the FAA will work through them.

Boston Logan is a complicated airport. Multiple runways cross each other, and during busy hours, different controllers in the tower have to coordinate carefully to keep planes from getting in each other's way. When that coordination breaks down — even briefly — you can end up with a situation like this one.

This incident is getting attention at a moment when U.S. aviation safety is already under the microscope. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA have faced pressure from Congress after a series of near-misses at major American airports in recent years — Reagan National in Washington, JFK in New York, and Austin among them. Each event had different causes, but together they've made runway safety a priority issue for regulators.

One thing investigators will likely look at: whether staffing shortages among air traffic controllers played any role. The FAA has been dealing with controller shortages that have drawn congressional attention, and workload can affect how well controllers manage the airspace. Whether that was a factor in Boston remains to be determined.

Both airlines will cooperate fully with the FAA investigation, and information from the pilots will help fill in what happened.

Looking ahead, the FAA's findings will shape what comes next. If the investigation uncovers a gap in how the airport operates, or if it finds a technology that could have prevented this, that evidence could lead to new procedures at Logan, action against individuals if warranted, or requests to Congress for more funding to modernize airport equipment. Boston Logan currently lacks some of the surface detection technology that other major airports have already installed. Whether that becomes relevant to this incident is something the investigation will address.

For now, the FAA's review is underway, and the facts will emerge from that process. It would be premature to draw firm conclusions before the investigation is complete.