WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A potential collision between JetBlue and Southwest
Airlines planes at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport was narrowly
avoided on Thursday. This is the most recent incident in a series of near misses
at U.S. airports, According to NBC News.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the circumstances that led
to this close call.

Recordings of air traffic control communications revealed that controllers
urgently directed the JetBlue flight, an Embraer ERJ-190 heading to Boston, to
abort its takeoff when a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 bound for Orlando
began taxiing across the runway in front of it. The two planes came within 400
feet of each other before the controllers intervened and brought both planes to
a halt immediately.

It is unclear why the jets were allowed to occupy the same runway
simultaneously. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries. Following the
incident, the JetBlue plane returned to the runway threshold and then departed
for Boston Logan. The Southwest plane was directed to continue crossing that
runway and proceed towards a second runway, from where it successfully took off
as scheduled, heading to Orlando.

Experts believe that this event highlights the minimal safety margins among an
overworked group of air traffic controllers. This is just one in a series of
close calls that have recently occurred at U.S. airports, and it is crucial to
ensure that proper safety protocols are in place to prevent future incidents.



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