By In a heart-stopping incident on Wednesday, an American Airlines plane was forced to abruptly abort its take-off at the last second to avoid crashing into a private jet landing at Virginia’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The near-miss, which marks the second close call at the Arlington airport in just over a month, has prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The drama unfolded just after 10:30 am when the Boston-bound American Airlines flight had been given clearance by air traffic controllers to take off. The plane had already reached speeds of approximately 100 mph when controllers realized that a King Air private jet was landing on an intersecting runway.
Despite air traffic controllers ordering the smaller plane to go around and not land, the private jet had already touched down, according to audio recordings of the exchange obtained by Boston25. In the audio, a traffic controller can be heard urgently instructing, “American 2134 cancel takeoff clearance. Zero, alpha, alpha, go around, go around.”
The American Airlines pilot swiftly responded, confirming that they were “rejecting” the take-off. In a chilling moment, the private jet pilot replied, “Zero alpha alpha, cannot go around, we are already on the ground.”
The FAA has launched an investigation into the incident, stating, “An air traffic controller canceled the takeoff clearance for American Airlines Flight 2134 because another aircraft was cleared to land on an intersecting runway. The FAA will investigate.”
Following the close call, the American Airlines plane returned to its gate, where maintenance crews conducted several hours of inspections to ensure the aircraft’s safety. The flight eventually departed for its destination approximately four and a half hours later.
This incident comes on the heels of another near-miss at Reagan National Airport on April 16, when a JetBlue plane bound for Boston aborted its takeoff after a Southwest Airlines plane encroached on the runway. In that case, air traffic controllers urgently called out, “JetBlue 1554 stop! 1554 stop!” The Southwest pilot responded, “We stopped. We were cleared to cross Runway 4.” Both planes managed to slam on their brakes just in time, leaving a mere 400 feet between them.
The recent string of close calls at Reagan National Airport has raised concerns about air traffic control procedures and the potential for catastrophic accidents. As the FAA investigates these incidents, the aviation industry and the public await the findings and any necessary changes to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.
Credit: Nypost.com
