Two planes almost collided at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday, prompting a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation.
An air traffic controller at the Arlington, Virginia, airport had to cancel the takeoff clearance for American Airlines Flight 2134, which was already heading down the runway at around 10:30 a.m. when another plane was cleared to land on an intersecting runway, Fox Business reported.
The other aircraft was a private King Air jet, according to the Daily Mail:
Audio recording of the conversation between the control tower and the planes obtained by TODAY revealed the tense moment the King Air pilot said he couldn’t just “go around” because he was “already on the ground”:
The incident comes just weeks after the FAA announced another investigation into a close call involving JetBlue and Southwest planes at the same airport.
A Southwest Airlines jet passes unused luggage carts as it arrives, Dec. 28, 2022, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix (AP Photo/Matt York, File).
“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we’re grateful to our crew for their professionalism,” American Airlines said, confirming to Fox Business that they will support the FAA in their probe into the more recent near-disaster.
In April, the FAA told the outlet that the agency has “seen a recent drop in the rate of serious runway incidents.”