Last week, four planes were asked to cross the runway at JFK – New York’s largest airport – at the same time. “One was close to disaster,” writes ABC 7.
The FAA – the US Federal Aviation Administration, is investigating the incident.
A Swiss Air plane was cleared by the air traffic controller to take off on the runway, and reached a speed of about 40 knots before the pilot noticed that four other planes were about to cross onto the same runway. This led to the Swiss Air plane being on a collision course.
TAKING OFF: The plane was about to take off when the pilot noticed that there was traffic on the runway. Photo: Screenshot Flightradar24
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In a statement, the Swiss airline praised its pilot.
– Due to the fact that the pilot quickly realized what was about to happen, and the person in question’s quick action, a potentially dangerous situation was quickly de-escalated, says the airline.
The industry website Simple Flying writes that the Swiss Air plane had just started taxiing on the runway, and was getting ready to take off, when the pilot saw three other planes taxiing onto the same runway.
“The air traffic controller had given the plane clearance to cross the runway about 40 seconds before the plane was given permission to take off. No instructions to stop, cancel clearance or abort the start were given,” they write.
When the plane broke off, it must have had a speed of 40 knots. It took a quarter of an hour later.
