AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS STOP 2 JETS COLLIDING AFTER THEY'RE CLEARED TO TAKEOFF FROM SAME RUNWAY
The incident happened on Thursday, April 18, at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia
Air traffic controllers in Virginia stopped two jets colliding after they were cleared to takeoff from the same runway.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it's now looking into the incident, which took place at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"An air traffic controller instructed Southwest Airlines Flight 2937 to cross Runway 4 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport while JetBlue Flight 1554 was starting its takeoff roll on the same runway," the FAA said in a statement seen by PEOPLE.
"The event happened on Thursday, April 18, around 7:41 a.m. local time. The FAA will investigate."
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According to CNN, air traffic controllers had to radio each plane to stop. Audio recordings detail controllers asking the Boston-bound JetBlue flight to stop its takeoff as the Southwest Airlines plane — bound for Orlando — began taxiing across the runway in front of it.
“JetBlue 1554 stop! 1554 stop!” the tower controller said, according to the outlet, while the ground controller ordered the Southwest Airlines flight to halt its taxi.
The Southwest pilot replied, “We stopped. We were cleared to cross Runway 4," per CNN.
The two planes stopped about 300 feet apart, reported CBS News, which cited flight data as showing the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-Max 8 was stopped before it reached the runway, while the JetBlue Embraer 190 reached a speed of 35 mph.
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JetBlue confirmed to CNN that the plane was inspected after the incident and later departed the airport safely after it had initially "aborted take-off due to another aircraft attempting to cross the runway.”
PEOPLE has reached out to JetBlue and Southwest Airlines for comment.
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2024-04-19T12:09:50Z dg43tfdfdgfd