A “near miss” between two planes at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, was reported Thursday morning.
The planes, one from Southwest and one from JetBlue, nearly ended up crossing the same runway while that JetBlue flight was taking off.
It happened about 7:40 a.m., when an air traffic controller instructed Southwest flight 2936 to cross runway 4 while JetBlue flight 1554 was starting its takeoff, according to the FAA.
Air traffic controllers can be heard yelling “STOP! STOP!” on audio that was posted to YouTube.
No one was hurt and airport operations were not significantly affected.
The FAA said it will investigate.
There’s been debate about adding more flights to Reagan National Airport, with some calling it the busiest runway in the country.
There were about 54.4 million takeoffs and landings in the U.S. in fiscal year 2023, and of those, there were 1,756 total runway incursions, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. About 60% of the incursions were attributed to pilot deviations, about 20% were caused by air traffic controller action or inaction, and the remaining 20% were caused by vehicle or pedestrian deviations.
Barbara Terrio is a seasoned business journalist, delving into the world of finance, startups, and entrepreneurship. With a knack for demystifying complex economic trends, she helps readers navigate the business landscape. Outside of her reporting, Barbara is an advocate for financial literacy and enjoys mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
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