NY — Authorities are investigating a near-miss crash Friday night at the airport John F. Kennedy of New York between one airplane crossing a runway and another preparing to take off.
“¡Delta 1943, cancel the takeoff clearance! Delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance!” an air traffic controller declares in an audio recording of Air Traffic Control communications following he became aware that the other plane, operated by American Airlines, crossed ahead. The recording was made by LiveATC, a website that monitors and publishes flight communications.
Then the Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 plane preparing to depart safely stopped on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport while the other plane crossed ahead at around 8:45 p.m., the Administration said. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) in a statement.
“I think the controller made a good decision to refuse takeoff,” said John Cox, a retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California.
He explained that the rejected takeoff safety maneuver, which occurs when pilots abort takeoff and stop the plane, is one they are “very, very familiar with.”
“The pilots practice the rejected takeoff almost every time they get to the simulator,” he said.
The Delta plane came to a stop regarding 1,000 feet (300 meters) from where the American Airlines plane had crossed from an adjacent taxiway, according to the FAA statement.
The agency said Saturday that it will investigate the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board also said it was investigating what happened.
“They will listen once more to all the transmissions between the American plane and air traffic control to see who misinterpreted what,” Cox said.
In a statement, a Delta spokesperson stated: “Delta will work with and support aviation authorities in a thorough review of Flight 1943 on January 13 in connection with an aborted takeoff procedure at New York’s JFK airport. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and the delay in their travels.”
American Airlines declined to comment on the incident, saying it would direct all questions to the FAA.
FUENTE: AP
