Agencies investigate averted plane crash at New York airport

NEW YORK – Officials are looking into a close encounter at a New York airport Friday night between a plane crossing the runway and another preparing to take off.

″(Expletive)! Cancel takeoff clearance, Delta 1943! Delta 1943, please cancel your takeoff clearance!” An air traffic controller said in an audio recording of air traffic control talks that he noticed the second plane, operated by American Airlines, crossing in front of him. LiveATC, a website that monitors and uploads aircraft communications, made the recording.

The outgoing Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 came to a safe stop on the John F. Kennedy International Airport runway while the other passed in front around 8:45 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Passenger Brian Healy on the Delta flight initially thought the unexpected stop was due to a mechanical issue.

“There was this sudden movement of the plane, and everyone was propelled forward from the waist,” he remembered. “When the brakes were used, there was an audible reaction, almost like a gasp. Then there was complete silence for a few seconds.”

Could Happen To Any Plane

Healy, who was on his way to the Dominican Republic with his husband for a winter vacation, said it wasn’t until the next day that he realized the enormity of what could have happened on that runway.

“The pilot decided to only provide information on a need-to-know basis, and that was the appropriate decision,” he said.

According to John Cox, a retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, the controller “made a good decision to reject the takeoff.”

He stated that the rejected takeoff safety technique, in which pilots stop the aircraft and cancel the takeoff, is one that they are “very, very familiar with.”

Pilots Use Simulators

“Almost every time they get to the simulator, pilots rehearse refused takeoff,” he said.

According to the FAA, the Delta plane stopped around 1,000 feet (0.3 kilometers) from where the American Airlines plane had crossed from an adjacent taxiway.

According to a Delta spokeswoman, the plane returned to the gate, where the 145 passengers deplaned and were given overnight lodgings. The aircraft to Santa Domingo Airport in the Dominican Republic on Saturday morning took off.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Saturday that it would conduct an investigation.

NTS Is Investigating

The National Transportation Safety Board also stated that it was investigating the incident.

“They’ll go back and listen to every transmission between the American jet plane and air traffic control to discover who got it wrong,” Cox added.

“Delta will work with aviation officials and help them do a full review of flight 1943 on January 13 about a successful aborted takeoff procedure at New York-JFK,” a Delta representative said. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their trips.”

American Airlines declined to comment on the incident, directing any inquiries to the FAA.

SOURCE – (AP)