On January 13th, a Delta 737 and American Airlines Boeing 777 were involved in a near-miss at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
American Airlines flight crew crossed an active runway, 4L, without clearance from relevant parties. This was while the Delta flight had begun its takeoff procedure and was moving down the runway. Data and subsequent reports indicate that the pair were only separated by 1,000 feet or 304.8 metres in what is being labelled as a near-miss that is too close for comfort.
NTSB, FAA and all relevant parties have launched an investigation into the incident. Delta’s crew were forced to head back to the gate. This due to operating limitations on the crew, the plane was forced to stay at JFK for the night before operating normally the day after. This was as per Flightglobal.
While the Delta aircraft headed back to the gate, the American Airlines service departed routinely after the close call. Additionally, it is reported that the American Airlines aircraft was meant to cross the active runway via taxiway K rather than taxiway J.
LiveATC highlights the panic in the voice of air traffic controllers who were handling the flight and pressing Delta 1943 to cancel their takeoff. Crew onboard the Delta 737 flight reported “rejecting.”
Thankfully there was no impact, and both aircraft operated routinely, getting passengers safely to their destination.
