"Takeoff Canceled!" Urgent Shout... US Passenger Plane Nearly Collides

Collision Crisis Averted at JFK Airport
Under Investigation by US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Two passenger planes nearly collided while preparing to take off at John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport in New York, prompting the U.S. government to launch an investigation.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced on the 15th (local time) via Twitter that it is investigating a runway incursion incident between an American Airlines Boeing 777 and a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 at New York JFK Airport on the 13th. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also issued a statement confirming that it has begun an investigation.

[Image source=Pixabay]

According to the FAA, at around 8:45 p.m. on the 13th, a Delta Air Lines passenger plane was taxiing to the runway for takeoff when an American Airlines passenger plane crossed the taxiway (a path connecting the runway and the apron) intersecting that runway.

Just before the collision, an air traffic controller who noticed the situation stopped the plane preparing for takeoff. The controller reportedly shouted urgently to the Delta Air Lines plane, "Abort takeoff!"

Following the controller's cancellation of the takeoff clearance, the Delta Air Lines plane stopped about 300 meters ahead of the taxiway where the American Airlines plane had just passed. This narrowly prevented a collision.

John Cox, a professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, told foreign media that pilots are regularly trained to respond to takeoff clearance cancellations, and he evaluated that "the controller's order to prohibit takeoff was an appropriate measure."

Meanwhile, the NTSB is reportedly planning to review and listen to all communications on the date of the incident, including radio transmissions between the American Airlines jet and the control tower, as part of its investigation.