A near miss?

When two airplanes almost collide why do they call it a near miss?? It sounds like a near hit to me!!

rnealw,
Meaning of "near" is "close, narrow." That's the definition behind terms such as "near relative" (a close relative), "near escape" (a narrow escape) and, yes, "near miss." So a "near miss" is a miss that came very close to being a hit, while a "far miss" is a miss that wasn't even close.
Sue