The Federal Aviation Administration says an investigation is underway after two planes narrowly avoided a crash at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Friday night.
A Delta Airlines Boeing 737 plane was about to take off from the busy airport at 8:45 pm. Another plane operated by American Airlines was spotted crossing in front of the departing jetliner after air controllers ordered it to stop, the FAA said in a statement.
“Delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance!” Air traffic controllers can be heard in audio recordings of air traffic control communications made by LiveATC, a website that monitors and shares flight communications.
While the Delta plane was able to stop safely, the passengers on board felt the sudden stop.
Brian Hale, a passenger on a Delta flight, told NBC News, “It was like a split second of panic that caused this audible reaction on the plane.” “I felt the adrenaline and there was complete silence on the plane and then there was relaxation when the plane stopped.”
American Airlines Flight 106, a Boeing 777, passed on an adjacent taxiway, according to the FAA, and the Delta aircraft stopped at about 1,000 feet.
After the flight with 145 passengers and 6 crew members returned to the gate after the incident, the customer had to leave the plane.
A Delta Air Lines spokeswoman said the overnight delay was due to crew resources, with passengers being accommodated overnight. It departed just before 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always Delta’s number one priority,” they said, adding that the airline “will work and cooperate with aviation authorities in a full review” of the incident.
American Airlines referred all calls to the FAA.
John Cox, a retired pilot and aviation safety professor at the University of Southern California, said he questioned whether there was “miscommunication between the American crew and air traffic controllers.”
Asked how rare such incidents are, he said: “It happens occasionally where there is a misunderstanding about air traffic control clearance and someone has to deny take-off.”
Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said they would investigate the incident.