WASHINGTON — An air traffic controller who nearly caused a midair collision last year has again been relieved of duty after putting two planes on converging courses. The case raises questions about whether employee rights are trumping safety at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Shortly after beginning the 7 p.m. work shift at the FAA radar facility at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi on Feb. 29, controller Robert Beck ordered an Air Force C-130, a four-engine turboprop, to increase its altitude from 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet and to adjust its heading. That put the jet on a converging course with a twin-engine turboprop owned by the Homeland Security Department, according to an FAA employee with knowledge of the incident.

The controller Beck had relieved was standing in the back of the radar room while taking a break. He noticed the mistake and alerted Beck so he was able to separate the planes, avoiding a possible collision, according to the FAA employee. The planes were just north of Gulfport at the time.

The employee wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and commented only on condition of not being named.

An FAA report on the incident, released Friday in response to an Associated Press request under the Freedom of Information Act, confirms most of the details, although it doesn’t name the controller involved.

An FAA analysis of radar data shows the planes came within 2.59 miles laterally and 300 feet vertically of each other. Regulations require a minimum separation distance between planes of three miles laterally or 1,000 feet vertically.

Air traffic was light at the time, leaving Beck – who has a history of disciplinary problems – with no planes to handle except the two that he put on a converging course, the employee said.

Beck didn’t return a telephone call from the AP seeking comment.

The FAA report said the controller who made the error initially thought he’d been told the planes were at the same altitude, so he told the Air Force jet to climb. The controller has been removed from directing air traffic and is “assigned to administrative duties while the FAA evaluates the individual’s future status with the agency,” the FAA said in a statement.