Investigation continues into what caused the American Airlines plane to nearly collide with the Delta plane

Hundreds of lives were saved at JFK Airport as two planes narrowly avoided colliding with each other on the runway, thanks to a sophisticated new radar system that is only available at some airports in the country.

The near collision between an American Airlines Boeing 777 and a Delta Boeing 737 came just a week after the US union complained about new pre-flight protocols that had caused delays while pilots reviewed procedures.

The departing Delta plane then came to a safe stop on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport when the American Airlines plane crossed ahead around 8:45 p.m. Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. .

The collision was avoided thanks to a sophisticated radar system used on the ground by JFK Airport, the Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X. The system collects data from sensors to warn the tower of potential collisions.

Last week, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, raised concerns about new cabin protocols imposed by the airline, without proper training. These procedures may become part of the FAA and TSA investigation into the incident.

The new controls have been in place since Tuesday, January 11. The procedures deal with cockpit communications during critical events like low-visibility landings, according to the union.

“The operational changes that the administration is attempting to implement without extensive training alter the way pilots communicate, coordinate and execute flight safety tasks at some of the highest threat times of flight,” the Pilots Association said. Aliados (APA) in a publication last Monday. .

The changes were imposed through a bulletin, according to the union. “This attempt to train through bulletins, while ignoring serious security issues and well-established best practices, risks drastically eroding safety margins,” he added.

American said, in an emailed statement to Reuters, “These changes represent industry best practices and ensure better crew coordination and consistency between fleet types so our pilots can easily transition between different aircraft. if they wish.”

“These upgrades have been underway since 2021 and have been a coordinated effort with the APA Training Committee,” the airline said, adding that the approach to familiarizing pilots has been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration. USA

The Delta flight was preparing to take off when it was forced to slam on the brakes, coming to a stop just 1,000 feet from a potentially fatal collision.

It appears that the anonymous American Airlines pilot had crossed into the wrong lane, appearing right in front of the accelerating Delta plane.

But throughout the entire process, the Delta pilot seemed calm and collected, even calmly telling Air Traffic Control that he would simply have to return to the gate and “make a few phone calls.”

The FTA recordings detail the moments immediately before and after the possible crash at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport around 8:45 p.m. Friday.

It begins with the American Airlines pilot saying the flight was ready to taxi to a runway, to which an air traffic controller says they should take runway 4 left and “stay clear of Kilo.”

The female pilot repeats the message moments before another air traffic controller tells her to continue on the route and “cross runway 31 to the left at Kilo.”

She replies that she’s ‘crossing 31 left at Kilo’, but starts to pull into the wrong lane and goes straight instead of turning left.

Just a moment later, air traffic control clears the Delta flight headed for the Dominican Republic that is ‘cleared for takeoff’.

The pilot affirms the message by saying: ‘Cleared for takeoff, runway 4 left, Delta 1943.’

But as it was going down the runway at 115 mph, an air traffic controller noticed that the Delta flight was about to collide with the American Airlines flight.

‘Shit, oh! F***’ a controller was heard saying.

At that moment, another air traffic controller comes on the radio urging: “America 106 Heavy, America 106 Heavy, Heavy, hold position… American 106 Heavy, hold position.”

Meanwhile, a third air traffic controller tells the Delta pilot: ‘Delta 1943 canceled takeoff clearance! Delta 1943 cancels takeoff clearance.

The pilot replies that he “rejects”, while an air traffic controller asks him what his intentions are.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to go somewhere, run through a couple of checklists and probably make some phone calls for Delta 1943,” the pilot says calmly.

An air traffic controller says that the plane can “round right at Bravo and miss Hotel Bravo”, which the pilot repeats once more.

But another air traffic controller ten asks: ‘Delta 1943, did you make the change?’

‘Yes sir, we did,’ replies the pilot.

‘OK, I guess you are [going to] you want to move, right?

“Uh, well, uh, we’ve got to make a couple of phone calls here and I think we’re going to head back to a gate,” the pilot says, apparently shrugging off the near miss.

The air traffic controller agrees with your assessment and says, ‘OK, I thought so too.’

He then turned his attention to the rogue American Airlines flight, saying there was a “possible pilot diversion” and “I have a number for you, I advise you read to copy.”

The female pilot replies that she is ready to copy the phone number, while an apparent co-pilot asks: ‘The last authorization they gave us, they authorized us to cross, is that correct?’

The air traffic controller replies, ‘I guess we’ll listen to the tapes, but you were supposed to go out in 4L.’ It currently does not reach runway 31L.

Brian Healy, a passenger on the Delta flight, said he initially thought the abrupt stop was a mechanical problem.

“There was this abrupt jolt of the plane, and everyone was pushed forward from the waist up,” he recalled. “There was an audible reaction when the brakes happened, like a gasp. And then there was total silence for a couple of seconds.

Healy went on to say that the Delta pilot made the right decision in not sharing with the passengers exactly what had occurred.

“The pilot made the call to share information only when it was necessary, and that was absolutely the right decision, because it would have been pandemonium,” he said.

John Cox, a retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, said he thought the controller “made a good decision to refuse takeoff.”

He said the aborted takeoff safety maneuver, which is when pilots stop the aircraft and abort takeoff, is one they are “very, very familiar with.”

“The pilots practice the rejected takeoff almost every time they get to the simulator,” he said.

The plane returned to the gate, where the 145 passengers disembarked and were provided overnight accommodations, a Delta spokesman said. The flight to the Santo Domingo airport in the Dominican Republic took off on Saturday morning.

‘Delta will work with and assist aviation authorities in a full review of Flight 1943 on January 13 regarding a successful aborted takeoff procedure at New York-JFK. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travel,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.