A JetBlue airline pilot had to take “evasive action” last Monday while landing at Boston Logan International Airport when another plane flew across a runway that crossed his path, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The incident occurred around 7 p.m. Monday when the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as a JetBlue flight was preparing to land, according to the FAA’s preliminary review.
The FAA is investigating how close the two aircraft came to colliding, but flight data tracking service Flightradar24 said Tuesday that a preliminary analysis placed the aircraft approximately 530 feet apart.
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An air traffic controller ordered the Learjet pilot to line up and wait on one runway while the JetBlue flight landed on another, the FAA said in a statement.
“The Learjet pilot read the instructions clearly, but instead initiated a takeoff run,” said the FAA. “The pilot of the JetBlue aircraft took evasive action and initiated a climb as the Learjet crossed the intersection.”
“JetBlue Flight 206 landed safely in Boston after air traffic controllers directed our pilots to perform a go-around,” a JetBlue spokesperson said in a statement sent to NBC News.
“Safety is JetBlue’s top priority and our crews are trained to react to situations like this. We will assist authorities as they investigate this incident.”
The Learjet was a private charter operated by Hop-A-Jet, the FAA said.
More incidents at U.S. airports
Monday’s was the most recent incident involving commercial aircraft in recent months. There was one at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport in January, a second in Austin, Texas, in February and another off the coast of Hawaii in December.
That prompted FAA Administrator Billy Nolen to say in early February that he was forming a team of experts to review airline safety.
“We are experiencing the safest period in aviation history, but we cannot take this for granted,” said FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen in a memo released Feb. 14. ” Recent events remind us that we must not become complacent.”
Nolen said he is forming a safety review team to examine the processes and integration of U.S. aerospace system safety efforts. A summit will be held in March to explore new actions to ensure aviation safety.
With information from Univision
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