NEW YORK — A close call last week at John F. Kennedy International Airport involving several planes has prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Officials say on April 17 just before 5 p.m. a Swiss Air flight was moments away from takeoff when the pilot spotted four other planes crossing the same runway.
The Swiss aircraft, having just begun its taxi for takeoff, aborted the procedure upon seeing the crossing traffic.
According to a statement from Swiss Air, the aircraft had already reached a speed slightly above the maximum for taxiing when the pilot decided to brake suddenly. The airline said the timely action ensured that a potential disaster was averted.
The following is the air traffic control audio with the planes involved:
Swiss Air flight: “Swiss 17K heavy, rejecting takeoff, traffic on the runway … Do you copy? Swiss 17K heavy.”
JFK tower: “Swiss 17K, Roger, continue on the runway, exit on 31L.”
The FAA is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident to ensure that proper safety procedures were followed and to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Similar incident happened at JFK in 2023
The pilots of an American Airlines plane taxied across the wrong JFK runway on Jan. 13, 2023 — into the path of another jetliner that was taking off — after the captain became distracted and confused about takeoff instructions and the co-pilot lost track of their plane’s location, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed in documents earlier this year.
Disaster was averted because an air traffic controller — using an expletive — shouted at pilots of the other plane, a Delta Air Lines flight, to abort their takeoff.
