Near-Collision at New York Airport Under Investigation! Who’s in the Wrong?

A scary scene unfolded at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Friday, January 13th. Two planes, one from Delta Airlines and one from American Airlines, nearly collided on the runway at JFK, causing an investigation to be launched by the FAA to determine what exactly went wrong, and how it can be avoided in the future.

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FAA Launches Investigation into Near-Collision at New York's JFK Airport

A story from MSNBC updated us on the investigation that has been launched by the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the cause of a near-collision on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Friday, January 13th.

Two planes, one Delta and one American Airlines, came within 1,000 feet of one another on the runway on Friday, which is an extremely close call by airport standards. The Delta flight was forced to abort its take-off, and quickly, when it was discovered that the American Airlines flight was rumbling right in front of it.

Here's a look at the incident via radar:

Now, here's a look at it with the audio from Air Traffic Control:

The most poignant line comes when one operator yells the chilling “Delta 1943 cancel takeoff plans! Delta 1943 cancel takeoff plans!”

The Delta flight was scheduled to leave for the Dominican Republic at 8:45PM that night, but due to the incident, was forced to return to the terminal, at which point passengers were asked to deplane.

The flight was rescheduled for the next day, and took off in the morning on January 14th.

First and foremost, thank goodness that a few particularly observant Air Traffic Control operators were able to spot the oncoming AA flight, so that no one ended up getting hurt. No one is sure how this was allowed to happen, and it's very likely that no one in the public will ever be told.

It does appear as though the American Airlines flight was the one in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the company saying they will defer to the FAA for comment during the investigation. For now, all we know is that everyone is safe, and that's by far the most important thing to hear.